


All The Words Left Unspoken

by IAloneSurvive



Series: I Don't Follow Orders [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 22,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4541292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAloneSurvive/pseuds/IAloneSurvive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the Chunin exams well under way Team 7 are really starting to learn how to work as a team, finally. However their exception member, Akahana, prodigy of the Akiyama clan, has two linger questions which are beginning to consume a lot of her thought process. Who healed her and who is her father? Will she ever find out who the two are?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clash of Jounin and Genin

"It's good to see you back here, Akahana," Iruka-Sensei smiles, "do you miss your days of being a student?"  
"Most definitely. I remember wanting to grow up so fast and now, I'd give anything to rewind and be back where I was only a few months ago" I sigh and look away, "being a Shinobi isn't all it's cracked up to be."  
"Maybe when you become a Chuunin you should apply to be an academy teacher" Iruka suggests, "it'd be great to have one of our top students pass on their knowledge to the next generation. We could produce one of the greatest classes yet this year either way." I shake my head,  
"I could never teach children who are merely six years old that they are just tools of the rich man."  
"I understand" Iruka nods, "you really are your mother's daughter."

"Iruka! Akahana!" Shouts a voice out of no where.  
"Kotetsu? What's wrong?" I ask, alarmed by the sudden shout.  
"Lord Hokage has called for you both urgently" Kotetsu answers, hands on his knees panting. It must be urgent if Kotetsu ran here. Iruka and I glance at each before quickly making our way to the Hokage's office.  
"Iruka, Akahana, I have a very important mission for the two of you. All of our Jonin are on missions in order to make sure the village is secure for the Chunin exams. However there are a group of enemy ninja around here" he points to a red dot marked in the forest outside the village walls, "even if their students are competing the exams they have sent a threat and appear to be rogue ninja from the same village. I need you to eliminate them. The very fate of this village may rest on your shoulders."  
"We understand" Iruka nods and we disappear.

They clearly work out our plan before we even spotted them as we meet them in a group of six and not gradually as they were previously stationed. Three are Jonin and three are Chunin. This can't be good, the village's Jonin must be really busy if Iruka and I were next pick. Good job they haven't noticed us yet.  
"Leaf Clone Jutsu" I mutter and Iruka copies with his own doppelgängers.   
"What's the plan then" Iruka hisses, "this doesn't look like it'll be easy."  
"These Ninja are formidable, even their Genin are extremely skilled. Judging by the fact they also seem to be rogue ninja who knows what they're like. The best thing to do is try and separate them."  
"How? With clones?" Iruka asks, looking confused.  
"That and the leaf genjutsu. If we make them follow the clone and then replicate that as well with the genjutsu then they should still think they're following it. We've just got to hope that with their great power comes great stupidity."

Iruka produces more clones and my own disappear so I can focus my chakra on my genjutsu which, since the mission with Team Gai, I have started to get the hang of and don't seem to drain as quick. One of Iruka's clones runs out into the forest and one laughs,  
"Pathetic, giving yourself away like that" he says before going after the clone. I follow, keeping a keen eye on the ninja. They stare, a little confused when the clone disappears. They look around,  
"Leaf Illusion Jutsu" I mutter and they see the clone once again, going after it again. They reach it and hit it with their arm, it disappears. I drop down behind him, red leaves in hand and slam the ground,  
"Earth Rupture Jutsu!" It throws him back and he hits his head on a tree leaving me the open window to throw a kunai at him.

Killing the other four I have no problems with, they were strong, I'll give them that and by the time we're done with them we're pretty bruised up and Iruka even has a kunai sticking out of his arm. Then there's the final Chunin.  
"Iruka, I can't" I whisper.  
"You have to" Iruka sighs, hand on my shoulder as I stare at the ninja. I turn and glare at him,  
"I will not kill an innocent child" I almost shout. I turn and look back at the boy. He's so young. Barely seven by the looks of it. He's trembling as well. As I move towards him he lifts a kunai, his eyes going wide with fear. "I won't hurt you" I smile, holding out my hands, "look no weapons. Here scratch my arm" I say. I hold it out to him and he presses the very end into my arm before jumping away at the sight of blood. "You don't like the sight of blood do you" he shakes his head, "how about you come back to the village with us. We won't make you fight." He nods.

I carry him to the village on my back as Kakashi did for me when he found me in the wreckage of my own home.  
"What's your name then? I'm Akahana and this is Iruka" I ask. He shakes his head. Iruka frowns,  
"Do you have a name?" The boy nods then puts a hand over his mouth and shakes his head.  
"You can't talk" I say, he shakes his head, "can you write?" He nods and then points to a mound of dirt nearby and then mimes writing. I set him down and he grabs a stick and spells his name out.  
Hiroshi Takaki.  
"Well then Hiroshi, I suggest you take off your head band" Iruka points out. It's then I notice that his musical note isn't scratched out unlike the other's. Hiroshi shakes his head and puts his hand over it. I sigh and get out a kunai, understandably he backs away.  
"Don't worry, I'm just going to scratch out the little note" I reassure him. Hiroshi takes his hands away and I move his hair and hold his head gently which scratching a line through the note.

"Akahana, who is this" Izumo snaps upon our re-entry to the village, he's looking straight at Hiroshi's headband and glaring.  
"Izumo, he poses no threat, he's a mute child and his name is Hiroshi Takaki" I reply. Izumo glares but Kotetsu tells us to go and leave the decision to the Hokage.  
"You what?!" Lord Hokage roars.  
"Please, he's just a child" I protest.  
"I must agree, Lord Hokage," Iruka nods, "it would be wrong to kill a child."  
"He's still an enemy" Lord Hokage corrects, "Genma kill him." I glare and try to sense the chakra in the air by letting one of my leaves go. This appears to be the real Lord Hokage. How...?  
"No, I c-can't" Genma also protests, he looks horrified.  
"Do it. That's an order" Lord Hokage hisses. Genma looks at me and gulps,  
"Akahana I'm so-" I don't let him finish,  
"You're not going to touch him."

I pull out one of my kunai and watch Genma like a hawk. He spits his Senbon at me first, intending to do what Haku did to Zabuza. He misses.  
"Don't make me do this," he practically begs, "please."  
"If you're prepared to follow his orders then I won't hesitate" I reply, I then look at him sadly, "has your kindness gone Genma Shiranui?"  
"Perhaps" he answers, suddenly enraged, the sudden change in character catching me off guard for a second. He comes towards me without hesitation and the two kunai clash in a metallic scream. Hiroshi shrinks behind Iruka, clutching at his leg in terror. We spend what feels like forever in a lock, glaring at each other.  
"This isn't you Genma" I mutter, trying to force him back, "he's a child."  
"He's an enemy ninja" Genma replies tonelessly. I see one option that will really work. I step away and lower my kunai.  
"Kill me then, if you're not concerned with killing a small child who's afraid of blood a fellow Shinobi should be no problem."

"I knew it" I smile coldly, "I knew you couldn't do it. Why does my life have any more value than his? Is it because you've known me for so long?" I turn around and start going towards Hiroshi when I hear something whistle through the air.  
"I'm sorry Akahana" Genma sighs.  
"You bastard Genma Shiranui" I mutter as I fall to the floor, my vision going blurry.


	2. The Promise

I wake with a start and sit bolt up right, my vision going cloudy for a second but I am almost immediately aware of my surroundings. An unfamiliar set of clothes. White all round with a hint of green.  
"You're awake" Genma states. I move as far away as I can,  
"Where's Hiroshi?" I demand, he better still be alive.  
"He's fine" Genma answers, "Hayate and Yuugao have taken him in for now."  
"He can't stay with them" I state.  
"Why not?" Genma asks, looking quite surprised.  
"He just can't, I don't want him living with someone who could die so easily" I answer.  
"I suppose he is a child of quite fragile mind" Genma nods.

"Akahana, I'm sorry" Genma sighs. I shake my head,  
"Now I look at it properly, I know you had to."  
"I just don't know how I could hurt you" he sighs, "after the promise I made."  
"What promise?" I ask, intrigued.  
"I suppose it won't do any harm to tell you. Kakashi, Hayate, Izumo, Kotetsu, Raidou and I were all students under your mother. When the massacre happened the six of us vowed we'd protect you as a payment. So far it seems we have failed" he explains. I move back over and hug him tightly,  
"Thank you" I whisper.

"Akahana Akiyama" Lord Hokage sighs, "you have proven that through all you've done you still retain good morals, a quality a Shinobi must have despite the fact it may counter some of our principles. You hold the name and laws of your clan high for someone so young and to be the last one. Koto Akiyama's spirit and power is evident within you. As you have mastered the use of the first six jutsus only your clan can preform I have no hesitation in bestowing the 7th, 8th and 9th upon you." Iruka steps forward,  
"As the first teacher, it is my duty to give you these teachings. Use them wisely."  
"So...you never intended to kill Hiroshi?" I ask, surprised. Lord Hokage looked so...so set on it.  
"No, he is in the village's care now and shall stay that way until he is old enough to choose his own path" Lord Hokage answers, "we used it to test your morals, you, of all people, must know that a village cannot simply live off the deaths of enemies. That sometimes we must change their ideals."


	3. New Faces, Not So Welcome

"So what do you think of the Leaf Village then Hiroshi?" I asked, smiling at him as we walked through the streets of Konoha. He grinned and nodded vigorously. I smiled and then looked at the time, "You better be getting to the academy" I smile, "I need to go do training." He grinned before running up the road to the school before I myself turned and jogged up to the bridge where Kakashi had demanded we meet. Only a few minutes after I got there Naruto also arrived,  
"Morning Sakura, Akahanna" he smiled before spotting Sasuke behind me and glaring. I rolled my eyes and jumped up onto the skinny rail of the bridge, using the moment to practise my balance. Naruto and Sasuke had been acting like this since we got back from the land of the waves and both me and Sakura would so, so happily teach them a lesson ourselves. I glance at Sakura a second and can see the "YOU BETTER BE HERE SOON KAKASHI-SENSEI OR YOU'RE IN FOR IT" in her eyes. I can't blame her at all. Kurenai once told me about a time Kakashi had been on time yet the event had turned out disastrous and he was only ever on time if he really needed to be. Well, I'm sure that'd be an interesting one for the grandkids.

We were waiting for what felt like hours and hours before he finally made an appearance.  
"Hey guys, good morning, sorry I'm late, I got lost on the path of life" Kakashi sighs.  
"Cut it Sensei, you weren't even awake when I got up to take Hiroshi to the academy" I reply, unimpressed. Naruto does us all a sort of favour and cuts to it,  
"Aright Sensei, I'm ready for the next ninja mission! No more of this beginner stuff okay? I want a chance to prove myself, if Lord Hokage let Akahanna do it why can't we?"  
"There's a difference between using missions to develop skills and going on missions you know" Kakashi sighs, "anyway..." Naruto turns around and glares at Sasuke while Sakura glares at Naruto, Sasuke remains expressionless. I end up laughing so much that I end up toppling off the wooden rail. Sasuke reacts immediately and grabs my wrist before I can even disappear over the edge. He pulls me up without a word.  
"Thanks" I smile gratefully.  
"Think nothing of it" he shrugs.  
"Hey Naruto, let us know when you're done fantasising" Kakashi sighs, "then we can actually get on with the mission."  
"Could you stop being annoying for at least five minutes Naruto?" Sakura snaps, slightly uncalled for but never the less true.

Of course we end up with a D-rank. Of course it's another chore the commissioner could get up ad do themselves but is far too lazy. On this occasion it's weeding a garden. I spend most of the time messing about with the leaves I find amongst the grass which is fair enough if you ask me. Naruto however...Naruto messes up big time. He pulls up not only the weeds but also the plants that grew there as well. He ends up with a black eye...yeah.

The next mission, again D-ranked but this time slightly more interesting as it involves moving water, is picking out rubbish from the river. Again I use my leaves, mainly to grab pieces that float away in order to develop a technique I think could be useful. Naruto messes up again. He falls and is carried away by the current and over the edge. Sasuke, Sakura and I all run over and I use the new technique to keep hold of Sasuke so he can grab Naruto. I swear I could kill this kid sometimes.  
"You are such a loser!" Sasuke snaps, glaring at Naruto.

A third, dog walking, I'm okay with it and Kakashi is definitely okay with it, I have to remind him that he technically can't join in. While Sasuke's, Sakura's and my own dogs are all rather normal size in comparison Naruto goes for the biggest dog. Seriously it'd probably be as tall as Kakashi stood up on it's hind legs. The dog drags Naruto anyway it wants as with the height comes a lot of bulk. It ends with the dog pulling Naruto into a mine field and several explosions.

"Look at you Naruto" Sakura sighs, she and Sasuke are carrying Naruto's weight between them as the day's activities have rendered his left ankle temporarily useless.  
"You really are just one big problem aren't you" Sasuke grins. Naruto's leg miraculously heals as he goes to hit Sasuke, only been stopped by Sakura.  
"Don't even think about it" she hisses, green eyes thin.  
"You aren't making any progress on the whole team work thing I see" Kakashi sighs. I shake my head as Naruto yells,  
"Yeah our team work is all messed up because of you Sasuke! You think you're better than everyone else." Well I'll give him that one, Sasuke does seem to act like that.  
"No, I'm better than you. It's a fact. If you've got what it takes to prove me wrong...then go ahead" Sasuke replies.  
Sasuke 1 (I mean 500)- Naruto 0 (I mean -2)  
The glare off begins and it seems that the two are getting on even worse than before the bridge builder's mission.

"Alright, lets call it a day" Kakashi sighs, "you can beat each other to a pulp some other time."  
"Whatever, I'm out of here" Sasuke mutters.  
"Yeah, I think I need to go get Hiroshi from the academy" I sigh and walk away. I'm not far behind Sasuke and I can hear quick footsteps behind me. Sakura shoots straight past me,  
"Hey Sasuke! Why don't we do something a little more personal" she suggests, oh dear, "you know to improve our training."  
"How about instead of flirting you work on your jutsu so the team is stronger" Sasuke counter-suggests. I can't argue with that, Sakura has got a lot of potential she isn't using.  
"You're just as bad as Naruto" Sasuke tells her, I look at him like he's crazy, "in fact, I'd say worse." He then walks off.  
"Ignore Sasuke" Naruto says, "me and you could develop our team work all day." Kakashi disappears and I can see the "are we getting alone time" look in Naruto's eyes. I am outta here...though I do hear Sakura yelling at him.

I find myself retracing me steps while I walk Hiroshi back to Hayate and Yuugao's house only a couple of minutes later. A fake rock appears to be following Naruto...okay then. After being chased around he turns around and shouts,  
"Worst disguise ever! There's no such thing as square rocks."  
"You saw through my camouflage" says the rock, "just what expected of my biggest rival." It then turns into the honorable Grandson, Konohamaru and two other children. Hiroshi smiles and runs over to them, well at least he's making friends, safe to say I was a little worried. I smile and walk over just as I overhear an,  
"I have to train!" From Naruto. Pfft, as if.  
"But you promised!" Konohamaru yells.

"A ninja playing ninja, that's pathetic" Sakura says, having turned back to see where all the noise was coming from. I laugh a little,  
"They are just children Sakura, let them have their fun."  
"Hey! I'm not a child" Naruto protests, "anyway, you're younger than me."  
"And...?" I ask, a satisfied smirk on my face.  
"Oh...you're a smooth dealer boss, she's your" Konohamaru coughs and nods at Sakura, "girlfriend." Sakura goes rigid with both horror and fury,  
"Well I guess you could see she's really crazy about me" Naruto laughs. Sakura sends him five miles back in one hit. Hiroshi hides behind me and watches her, intrigued and scared.  
"You're a witch and you're ugly too!" Konohamaru shouts. He crossed the line.

"Did you see how big her forehead is?" Konohamaru mutters. Whop, crossed it again. The look on Sakura's face makes Hiroshi run for it, joining Naruto and the other three when she gives chase. They run until they collide with two people. A boy and a girl about a year or two older than us. The girl is blond and wears her Hitai-ate round her neck while the boy hides his hair with some kind of covering that has cat ears and there's something like war paint on his face...hmm, who are they? They're not from here, that's for sure.  
"Do you need something?" Asks the boy. He then grabs Hiroshi and Konohamaru, Hiroshi screams which is one of the only things he can do with his voice.  
"Put them down!" Naruto yells but before he's even close he's tipped over by an invisible force.  
"You're all Leaf Genin I see, seems like this village is full of wimps" laughs the boy. I step forward,  
"Get your filthy hands off of them" I hiss, my eyes thinned while a small whirlwind grows beside me.  
"Oh, I see we have a challenger" he smiles, "well, what do I care 'Konoha's Kunoichi'" he says it with such tease, "little brats like this ought to be snapped in half."  
"I'm not involved in any of this okay" the girl says, looking bored as if this is a common accurance.  
"First this one" he drops Hiroshi but stands on his tunic so he stays put before turning his attention to Konohamaru. He goes to swing a punch at the boy but is hit by a rock, his reaction being to drop him as well and him scamper away. I throw my whirlwind at him as he stares behind me so Hiroshi can escape. He runs straight to me and I pick him up before turning to look. Sasuke Uchiha, what a pleasent surprise.

"You're pretty far from home, don't you think?" He says, tossing a rock in his hand.  
"Oh great, another wimp to piss me off" growls the boy.  
"Get lost" Sasuke growls back, crushing the rock in his hand.  
"Hey punk, get down here" demands the boy, Sasuke doesn't move, "you're exactly what I hate. All attitude no action." He then pulls on the roll of bandages attached to his back and sets what's inside on the ground.  
"What? You're going to use that for something so small?" The girl asks in surprise. Then there's a low, dry yet significantly evil sounding voice,  
"Kankuro. Back off. You're an embarressment to our village." Everyone looks shocked while Sasuke looks confused, glaring at the boy in the tree, his hair is red and his eyes are all blue, they seem some what similar to the Byakugan eyes, they have black all around them and above his eye is a kanji symbol. Who is he?


	4. A Disturbance In The Leaves

"Have you forgotten the reason we came here?" Asks the boy with red hair. Now I look at him, I'm guessing he's no older than us. I notice a tight grip on my leg and look down to see Hiroshi staring right at the boy. Hmm, he's clearly freaking him out.  
"Well...they challenged us" Kankuro says awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, "you see what happened was-"  
"Shut up" the boy hisses, "or I'll kill you." He may be our age but this boy is no child, though my hands are already stained with blood I didn't kill in cold heart but this boy...this boy, I doubt he has any regrets if his hands are stained.  
"I'm sorry, I was totally out of line, sorry" Kankuro replies quickly, hands up a little. The boy then turns to look at us,  
"Sorry for any trouble he caused you" but for a while Sasuke and the boy are staring at each other. I suppose they're assessing how well the other may fight.

All of a sudden the boy dissolves into sand before appearing on the ground by the other two ninja.  
"Lets go" he says and starts to walk away, "we didn't come here to play games." The other two follow but Sakura goes after them,  
"Hold on! I know from your headbands that you are from the village hidden in the sand. Even if our two villages are allied you cannot just walk into another village, so state your purpose." Then I remember, then I remember what the third said.  
"I would make you all Chunin now but as the Chunin exams are soon upon us that will be left to a later decision." They must be Sand Genin who are competing.  
"You're here for the Chunin exams aren't you?" I ask, frowning at them a little.  
"Finally, one of you who hasn't been living under a rock" says the blond girl, she must be fifteen or sixteen, "yes, we are Sand Genin who have come to the village for the Chunin exams" she then holds up a piece of paper with her picture on and some information, "we have permission."  
"The Chunin exams, what's that" Naruto asks.  
"Idiot, what do they sound like?" I snap, "they're exams for Genin which will determine whether they become Chunin or not."

The sand shinobi start walking away again but Sasuke jumps down from the tree and stands just in front of me and Hiroshi,  
"Hey, you!" He yells, he sounds more annoyed than I've ever heard him before, I don't think he trusts them one bit, "identify yourself!"  
"Who, you mean me" the blond girl asks, her cocky smile on her face. Sasuke doesn't take the joke and glares at her,  
"No, the one with the gourd on his back" he hisses. The boy turns around, his eyes a little thinner than before,  
"My name is Gaara, of the Desert. I'm curious about you too, and the leaf girl, what are your names?"  
"Akahanna Akiyama" I answer, glaring back. Sasuke puts on his some what playful grin,  
"I am Sasuke Uchiha." There's a silence as the two Genin glare at each other.  
"I bet you're dying to kno-" Naruto starts.  
"I couldn't care less" Gaara says before he can finish, they then leave without another word.

"Sasuke, can I talk to you about something?" I ask.  
"What?" He asks, eyebrows raised, I glance at Sakura and Naruto and he gets the hint, "oh, I see, I'll walk with you and Hiroshi then." We start walking and Sakura yells,  
"Hey! Where are you two sneaking off too?"  
"We're taking Hiroshi home, we need to talk about something that's none of your business" I reply, still walking, "learn to keep your nose out." Once we're a safe distance away Sasuke asks,  
"So, what gives then? Is it about that Gaara?" I nod,  
"That and something else. Firstly, the sand Shinobi, I believe they're here for the exams but don't you think that there's something much bigger going on? Like...like something bad is going to happen?"  
"I suppose there is, but new faces are never welcome here until proved safe" Sasuke replies, "and the other."  
"I'm not sure if you noticed but above you there was someone else, I only felt the disturbance in the leaves but they were there. They didn't seem like Genin, a much higher level and they weren't Leaf Shinobi either" I answer. He frowns,  
"That's odd...perhaps they're just very experienced Genin that have waited a long time before deciding to become Chunin."

When I got to Hayate and Yuugao's house I found Hayate at home, he'd just gotten back from a mission.  
"So, the Chunin exams are on the horizon then, maybe you will become a chunin" he smiles, "do you remember what I said to you?" I laugh a little,  
"Of course I do" I grin, "and I'll be a Jonin before I'm eighteen, promise."  
"There's something bugging you isn't there?" He asks. I sigh and nod,  
"Before, when me and Hiroshi were walking home there were a group of Sand Genin, here for the exams. One of them...he gave me the creeps, Gaara of the Desert" I answer, "there was something else though. There were three others watching us...they were all very powerful and they most definitely were not Leaf Ninja." He frowns a little,  
"I'll get Kotetsu and Izumo to notify Lord Hokage of that, I think you better go home, be careful." Well...that's reassuring.


	5. Genin

It's the same the next morning, Kakashi setting an early time for training and then us having to wait for what feels like hours. I spend my time again, walking back and forth along the rail, listening to Sakura and Naruto complaining and Sasuke just breathing.  
"What about me?!" Sakura snaps, "I didn't even have time to blow dry my hair!"  
"Same, I didn't have time to brush my teeth or change my underwear" Naruto agrees. Sakura just looks disgusted. Sasuke looks at me to them and then rolls his eyes, I nod in agreement. We then look over as Kakashi appears, he gives the old lie,  
"Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the path of life."  
"Again, you were asleep when I got up" I sigh as I go over to the others. He jumps down to join us and says,  
"Now this might seem a little sudden but I recommended you all for the Chunin exams. Here are the application forms." He hands one to each of us and I skim through it, seeing that what the girl was holding yesterday to be the same thing.  
"Application forms?" Sakura asks.  
"You're repeating me Sakura" Kakashi sighs, I wish he wouldn't do that, "it's all voluntary, if you don't feel up to it you don't have to do it."  
"Alright Kakashi-sensei! You're awesome" Naruto cheers, jumping on Kakashi and hugging him. Man...even I wouldn't have gotten away with that at the age of seven, Naruto's got some nerve in him.  
"Don't slobber on my vest" Kakashi snaps, pulling Naruto off, "anyway, if you want to participate then sign the form and bring it room 301 at the Academy, it's at 3pm five days from now."

"You're hoping to fight that sand boy aren't you?" I ask, not looking at Sasuke.  
"How could you tell?" He asks, both of us looking straight ahead. I sigh,  
"I could tell, when you too looked at each other I could see it. You don't seem to hate each other but you most definitely want to fight each other" I answer, "come on, lets go to the gate, Kotetsu-sama told me that the bullk of the Genin from the other villages will be arriving today." He nods and I lead the way, going up onto a roof before jumping into a tree by the gate. We watch for a little, each of the Genin has to give their application form to Kotetsu or Izumo before they're aloud in. Kotetsu spots me not too long after and waves, I wave back grinning. The Genin in front of him turns around and I have never been met by a more steely glare. It's a boy with dark green hair, a similar colour to that of my step father's, and matching eyes. I study his head band, I've never seen it before but it looks like the Leaf Village's symbol. Perhaps I have my own rival.

We watch more and more of the Genin come through and I nearly scream at the sight of a group.  
"Akahanna, what's wrong?" Sasuke asks in surprise.  
"They're...the ones with musical notes on their headbands...they're...I...I fought a group with Iruka-Sensei, they were formidable. The boy, Hiroshi, he used to be from that village" I answer, struggling a little with the lingering surprise in my voice.  
"I suppose we should keep an eye on them as well" Sasuke mutters, "considering they were the ones after the noble you escorted with another team." I nod, I can see Rain ninja as well. I have a grudge against rain ninja and I always will. Once all the Genin and their Jonin Senseis have gone through the gate Sasuke leaves and Kotetsu and Izumo wave at me again. I jump down from the tree and go over to them.

"I see you decided to use what I told you" Kotetsu laughed, "you brought the Uchiha kid as well I see."  
"He was curious" I answer, "Kotetsu-sama, that kid who glared at me, who was he?"  
"I suppose I'm not really supposed to tell you but oh well" Kotetsu sighed, leafing through the forms and eventually finding the right one and handing it over. Hogai Hayami, odd he has no village given.  
"I know what you're thinking but the kid doesn't have a village" Izumo explains, "I'm not sure what his head band means."  
"Surely Lord Hokage wouldn't allow it" I mutter.  
"He brought written permission from Lord Hokage, trust us, we've worked for Lord Hokage since we were teenagers, we know when something is fake" Kotetsu answers. Hmm, looks like I have got my own rival then, I don't trust this kid one bit.

The next morning there's no call of training so I go to the forest and sit in a tree, making a bouquet of silver ribbon roses. I sit, mumbling my mother's lullaby to myself. By the time I've done two I become aware of a presence above my head. I jump down from the tree and draw a kunai,  
"Alright, show yourself, I know you're there" I yell, looking round. A rain ninja appears, "Oh great" I sigh, "someone I'll just end up hating. I'll sort you out in seconds."  
"Stupid girl, you're over confident, have a bit of modesty" says the ninja. He goes to attack but I throw up my leaves and he goes flying back. He gets up again but I slam my hand on the ground and he's thrown back once again.  
"Over confident huh?" I smirk.  
"Just what is to be expected of Umeki Akiyama's child" he hisses before disappearing.


	6. Hayami Hogai

I stand, looking round for a while...just waiting for the rain ninja to come back. There's a hate relighting in me again, after almost three years. I have despised rain ninja since I was seven, it sounds early I know but I have my reasons. My step-father...he was a Chunin here, he taught at the academy but he abandoned our village. On the day of the massacre Mother came home from a mission in real tears. Mother never cried so it had sparked surprise in my Aunt Tsubaki and cousin who had just graduated from the academy. All she said was that she saw my step-father again and they had almost killed one another, the only other detail being that he was no longer a rogue but a Rain Ninja. It's been since that day.

It seems to have been long enough so I go back to the branch and carry on with my roses.  
"Always keep your opponent in a false sense of security" hisses a voice above me. I dive out of the way just in time, almost landing on my head when I hit the ground. I push myself to my feet and pull up my leaves into a whirlwind quickly, building it more and more using the leaves from the trees around me.  
"What do you want" I ask, my eyes thin. He laughs,  
"Don't you remember your step-father?"  
"You're not him" I reply, I can feel chakra burning in my palm, I'm over doing it. Calm, spread excess chakra to the rest of the body. I smile, "if you were my step-father you'd use the name you always called me." I've got him now, I throw my whirlwind at him and while he tries to dodge it I wrap a string of leaves round his leg and pull him back.

"Got you now" I laugh "not so str-" I'm cut off by an explosion that sends me back and makes the leaf rope snap, leaving them discarded on the ground.  
"Stupid girl, learn some modesty" he cackles, he then shots into the air and sends a rain of Senbon towards me. Really? I can't be killed by a formidable Jonin but a rain Genin? However it's quite a difference. Before they hit me a wave of water flies over my head and deflects them all.  
"You forget, it's against the rules to kill a competitor before the exams begin" says a voice, the wave of water is still pulsing above me. I look at the ninja and stare. It's the boy who glared at me, Hogai Hayami. The rain ninja glares at him but backs away.

The water shrinks away and he looks down at me, I'm lying on the ground, though pushed up slightly on my elbows, staring right back at him.  
"Surely it's common sense after being attacked not to stay in the same place?" He reminds me, holding out his hand to help me up. I take it, trying not to shudder at the feel of the leather glove he's wearing.  
"Why would you help me?" I ask, a little weary.  
"I'd rather that I'd have a guaranteed opponent in the exams" he replies, "anyway, what use is dying to something as pathetic as that."  
"Oh thanks" I reply, frowning at him.  
"No problem, I'm Hogai Hayami and you are?" He nods, smiling a little. Either he's very sarcastic or he didn't get it.  
"Akahanna Akiyama" I answer, it's odd giving people my real name but I can't really use Hatake any more seen as they're outsiders. Sounds stupid I know but it makes sense to me, you don't want them thinking that there's something weird going on in the leaf village, it's common knowledge that Kakashi's apparent only function is a warring Shinobi.

Once I've grabbed my roses and ribbon I rejoin Hogai and we both start asking each other questions.  
"So, what's it like in the Leaf Village?" He asks.  
"This place is oddly beautiful, our Hokage's monument is the best part...when it isn't being graffited on" I answer, "it's always warm but not too much and it's peaceful. I can't help but ask but what is your village, your headband seems very similar to my own" I reply.  
"I have no village" he answers, "the Hayami are wandering ninja who originated from the Mist village. Our headbands change with every generation and replicate that of a village the head chooses. Ours, my Uncle, has a good friendship with your village so that is the village we shall replicate until the new head takes over. That will be myself as my Uncle has never fathered a child."  
"That's pretty amazing and the Leaf village I'm sure is grateful" I smile, "I know I am." He smiled,  
"So what about you, I'm sure I've heard your clan name from some where."  
"We were part of the three clans that founded this village. Yet like the other two, there is only one member left" I answer, "me."  
"So you're the head of the clan?" He asks.  
"I...I've never thought about it before but I guess I am, if there were any of us left" I answer.


	7. The First Preliminary

Lee, Neji and Tenten, while training, were discussing the chuunin exams.  
"Did you hear, for the first time in five years there are rookie, first year genin who are competing" Lee asks.  
"Probably some ego fight between some Jonins" Tenten sighed, throwing a kunai at the target.  
"I hear four of them are from Kakashi's squad, Akahanna included" Lee replies.  
"Interesting" Neji mutters, "I wonder if any of them can do well. Even with Akahanna's impressive skills it's always the case of not knowing."  
"That is true" Tenten nods, "still, who cares?"  
"Either way, it's too bad for them" Neji smiles. Tenten laughs.

When Sakura arrived at the academy we all knew something was going on. For a start she was late, which was something only Kakashi was famed for and nothing like her at all. She also felt a little more distant and more weary. I put it down to nerves.  
"Morning" she smiles. I smile back but I can see Sasuke looking at her with slight confusion. So, he's seen it too.

Inside was packed with Genin from all over the continent. I saw the Sand Genin we'd run into a few days before and many of the rain ninja I would pay to avoid. I also saw Hogai who waved at me, which I returned. We then heard a thump,  
"What, you're taking the Chunin exams and you can't even beat us?" Laughed a voice...funny, that sounds like a squeaky Kotetsu.  
"Please, just let us through, we're supposed to go in there" replies a much more feminine voice. Tenten. She got up and walked towards whoever it was but I heard a thwack and knew she'd been hit. Charming.  
"Man, that's harsh" mutters one of the mist Genin.  
"Did you say harsh?" Grins the squeaky Kotetsu, "compared to the exams we're being nice."  
"Some of you will be completely wrecked or you might go crazy" says another voice, that sounds like Izumo, "you might even die. For chunin, that's just a normal mission." I think I know that already but really, if it is Kotetsu and Izumo why are they impersonating some Genin?  
"Chunin are qualified to lead missions, so your team mates lives are on the line" laughs squeaky Kotetsu, "delicate little girls like you don't belong here."

"Nice speech" Sasuke said very sarcastically as we walked up to the two 'genin', "now both of you step aside and let us through."  
"Also, drop the genjutsu, we're supposed to be on the third floor" I add. Sasuke grins at me, turning his head for just a second, "you must have noticed, Sakura?"  
"You do have the best eyes and analytical skills out of all of us" Sasuke adds.  
"Of course, this is only the second floor."  
"So you noticed an illusion huh?" Laughs the squeaky Kotetsu (I'm pretty convinced it's him as well), "now, try this." He goes to kick Sasuke and Sasuke goes to do the same yet Lee shots forward and stops them both.

Neji walks forward and glares at Lee,  
"I thought you said it was a good idea to hide our skill level."  
"I know" Lee sighs, looking at his feet. Tenten shakes her head,  
"It's over now" she then smiles at me, "Hi Akahanna, I see you got recommended after only a few months, well done."  
"Thanks" I smile back. Lee walks forward to Sakura...oh...dear.  
"My name is Rock Lee" he announces, "you are Sakura right? Please be my girlfriend, I swear to protect you with my life." Sakura goes completely awkward,  
"Definitely...not."  
"Aww, why?" Lee demands.  
"Because you're a weirdo" Sakura answers like it's plainly obvious.

"Hey you, what's your name" Neji demands of Sasuke. I'm surprised he doesn't know, Sasuke does have his clan's sign on his back.  
"It's common courtesy to give your own name when asking someone elses" Sasuke replies.  
"You're a rookie aren't you? How old are you?" Neji persists, ignoring Sasuke.  
"I don't have to answer" Sasuke answers. Neji glares at him while Tenten giggles and mutters,  
"Cute."  
"Come on" Sakura smiles, "lets go." Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura start moving but I hear voices and grin to myself.  
"Looks like the exams are going to be fun this year" Kotetsu says from behind the door.  
"Maybe for us but not for them" Izumo replies. I knew it was them.


	8. Rock Lee and Gai-sensei

I quickly run to catch up just to hear a,  
"I have to check something" from Lee."What's that all about?" From Tenten and the completely done sounding,"I have no idea" from Neji.

"Hey you! With the attitude!" Shouts a voice.  
"Lee, what are you doing here?" I ask, "aren't you supposed to be checking in?"  
"You...know him?" Sakura asks, sounding slightly worried. I nod,  
"Long story short, it's because of Kakashi."  
"What do you want?" Sasuke sighs.  
"To fight you, right here" Lee replies. Sakura looks terrified. Do I blame her? Absolutely not.  
"Here and now, really?" Sasuke asks, an eyebrow raised.  
"Yes" Lee answers and jumps down from the balcony he was stood on.

"My name is Rock Lee, you said it was common courtesy to give your own name when challenging, Sasuke Uchiha" Lee announces, kind of spitting Sasuke's name.  
"So you know me" Sasuke sighs.  
"I challenge you! I want to see the power of the Uchiha Clan" Lee replies, he then looks at Sakura and goes red, "Sakura, I love you." Sakura looks like she's holding a scream and eventually snaps and does scream,  
"Those eyebrows are not real, not real" she says to herself.  
"Oh they're real alright" I tell her. I have never seen her glare at me with so much force,  
"Horrible hair cut, dodgy eyebrows, you are such a weirdo!"  
"You are an angel" Lee replies. Wow most guys give up after that. He then blows her kiss which she quite literally dodges, he then does the same several times and Sakura eventually collapses.  
"I was dodging for my life there!" She yells in anger.  
"You do not have to be so negative" Lee says, dismayed.

"You've heard of me and you want to challenge me?" Sasuke asks.  
"Stop! This weirdo is mine!" Naruto yells.  
"Go for it" Sasuke shrugs.  
"Naruto you idiot" Sakura snaps.  
"You won't know what hit you" I sigh, arms folded with my head shaking. Naruto goes to hit Lee but is deflected by a flick of Lee's wrist and thrown off by Lee's leaf whirlwind. EXCUSE ME MY TECHNIQUE THANK YOU. Everyone stares. I knew they didn't have a clue.  
"You have no chance against me, I am the top leaf genin" Lee smiles, "fight and I'll prove it."  
"Alright, this should be fun" Sasuke grins.  
"Be careful" I warn, "this guy is even more than what you've just seen."  
"We only have half an hour" Sakura adds. Sasuke shrugs,  
"Give it five seconds." He then runs towards Lee.

Sasuke dodges the first of Lee's attacks but eventually is kicked hard in the face. Lack of speed. Compared to Lee none of us could ever match, I'd even say it rivals that of Kakashi's ability. Sasuke is thrown back and has to push himself to his feet with a lot of effort. He isn't giving up yet.  
"I've been waiting for this" Sasuke smiles. He then opens his eyes. Sharingan. Lee grins, he can tell Sasuke's eyes aren't quite fully developed yet. Sasuke goes for him again, Lee doesn't move until the last second. He kicks Sasuke again and he is thrown into the air. The fight continues with Sasuke getting beaten up pretty badly.  
"Now would probably be" I start but stop when I realise my words are falling on deaf ears.  
"Now do you see? I use no tricks of ninjutsu or genjutsu. Just taijutsu" he disappears and reappears behind Sasuke, "it is just martial arts. Nothing else." He moves away from Sasuke's attack, while explaining Sasuke's sharingan in a similar way to Zabuza. "As your eyes are not developed yet you cannot predict my moves and either way, you are too slow" he concludes. "There are two different kinds of ninja" Lee adds, Sasuke starts running at him again, "ones like you who are born with talent" he's closer, "and ones like me who have to train every day of our lives." Lee moves just before Sasuke's foot can connect with his face. He then kicks Sasuke in the face a third time.

While in the air Lee appears behind Sasuke and I see his bandages unravel. No. No. Lee don't use that.  
"You're finished!" Lee yells. Oh dear. However something that looks like a kunai but is actually a little windmill toy is thrown and stops the bandage from going round Sasuke. We all turn and look to see...a tortoise? Okay then.  
"Alrigt Lee! That's enough" says the tortoise. IT TALKS? Sasuke starts falling and Sakura sprints over and catches him before he hits the floor. Naruto is staring, I bet he wants to know what went on while he was out of it.  
"Sasuke are you okay?" I ask, genuinely concerned.  
"Yeah...I'm fine" he answers. He's shaken up though...he didn't even take the fall right.  
"You know the technique is forbidden" says the tortoise.  
"I am sorry" Lee replies. The confusion on Naruto's face is brilliant,  
"Is that his sensei?" I laugh as I know otherwise while Sakura replies,  
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" In the end I'm laughing at all their expressions.

"Alright, Gai-sensei!" Shouts the tortoise. Gai appears, stood on the shell, one leg up and looking through a finger and thumb circle.  
"Hey, how you doin' everybody? Life treatin' ya good?" He grins. We all scream. He then punches Lee in the face,  
"You fool!" We all scream again. Gai goes over to Lee, "sorry but it's for your own good."  
"I'm so, so sorry" Lee replies before he collapses onto Gai's shoulder. Did I mention they are both bawling their eyes out. Bet you feel stupid now Sasuke.

"Tell me, how is Kakashi-Sensei?" Gai asks.  
"You...know...him?" Sasuke asks, looking a little worried. I start laughing for an unexplained reason, earning me a funny look from the others.  
"Do I know Kakashi?" Gai grins, "well, he and I are arch rivals!" He then appears behind us,"49 to 50 wins, I'm one better. The fact is I'm stronger than Kakashi" I was laughing up until that point,  
"Erm...that...that is questionable."  
"You should accompany these young ninja, Akahanna when you next see him if I have not give Kakashi a warning that I would like to add another win to my name" Gai adds before disappearing.  
"I lied before" Lee states, "there is a better lead ninja than me, I came to fight him, he is on my own team."  
"Neji..." I mutter. Lee turns and walks away.

"Huh looks like the Uchiha's aren't as great as they're supposed to be" Naruto points out. I can see now that Sasuke is shaking and put a hand on his shoulder.  
"Shut up!" He yells, throwing my hand off, "I'll bring him to his knees next time!"  
"Says you who just got their ass kicked" Naruto replies, "I mean you, saw his hands didn't you." I think Sasuke was a little more preoccupied with Lee's feet but never mind. Sasuke glares as Naruto adds, "He trains harder than you. S'all I'm saying."  
"Fine" Sasuke grins, "this is getting interested, can't wait to see what's next. Sakura! Akahanna! Naruto! Let's go!"


	9. Yakushi Kabuto

"Hmm, I'm glad you came Sakura" says a rather relived voice when we find ourselves in front of room 301's door.  
"What...what do you mean?" Sakura asks, looking quite confused and slightly startled.  
"Well, you see the exams can only be entered in teams, usually it's three but well, you know, exceptions have been made. As all four of you are a team, even if there were three of you none of you would have been able to enter" Kakashi explains.  
"Hang on a minute, you said it was our choice" I remind him, frowning a little.  
"Well...that is true, it is your choice however it effects all of you, I didn't tell you before because I didn't want anyone trying to pressure anyone else into it, or feeling like they had to take part even if they weren't ready" Kakashi replies. He smiles and says, "I couldn't ask for a better team. I'm proud of you four." Before moving aside.  
"We won't let you done Sensei, that's a promise" Naruto grins.

We walk into a room full to the brim with people and wow some of them are terrifying. I search for familiar faces but find none and I feel one of my leaves rip itself to shreds. I wish they wouldn't do that when I'm nervous, it's not exactly the nicest feeling having some of chakra just destroy itself. I've always wondered why it does that, it's just somet-  
"Boy you had no idea how much I hoped you'd show up, I've missed those good looks of yours." I look over and try hold in the glare. Ino Yamanaka. Why? She's hanging of Sasuke like a lose shawl and grinning like an idiot, fair to say Sasuke doesn't look all too pleased.  
"Hey porker! Get your hands off, he's mine" Sakura yells. Really? In front of all these top genin we're going to witness a bitch fight between these two? Just great.  
"Oh so they let you in then" Ino laughs, "you know you've got more frown lines on your billboard forehead."  
"Leave my forehead out of this!" Sakura snaps, I suppose that's understandable.

"Oh it's you guys" the voice of Shikamaru Nara sounds, "I knew this was going to be a drag but not this bad."  
"So all the losers are here then" Naruto sighs, oh there's the high and mightiness that still hasn't learnt how to dodge a slow whirlwind of leaves.  
"Hey you know what pipsqueak!" Shikamaru starts, however he gives up as ever true to his character, "forget it, you're a waste of time." Choji as usual is eating.  
"Well, well what d'ya know, it's the whole gang back together again" laughs a familiar voice.  
"Oh, it's you Kiba" I sigh turning around, I smile at Shino and Hinata, "Guess you were pretty much right Hinata." She smiled at me, before turning her attention to Naruto, smiling and then going red. I see she still likes him, how sweet.  
"Oh, you guys too, we're all here for this stupid thing" Shikamaru mutters, huh, seems he's turned more sour since we graduated.  
"It's all of us back together, the rookie 10, this is gonna be fun" Kiba laughs, "that is, for the ones who make the cut. Eh Sasuke?"  
"Don't get over confident Kiba" Sasuke replies, something of a smug grin on his face.

Choji starts moving towards Kiba and Akamaru but is stopped by Shino.  
"Huh? What do you want" Choji growls. Shino's eyebrows move down, he's glaring,  
"Thought you might no have seen it" he hisses, I look down at their feet and see one of his bugs speeding across the floor, "wouldn't want you stepping on it."  
"What? Why? You saving it for lunch" Choji laughs.  
"Shut your mouth" I snap at him, he turns and glares at me for a second before someone else joins our scene.  
"Hey, you guys should probably try keeping it done" says the extra person. We all look over at a silver haired guy with glasses, I'm guessing he's in his late teens, "I mean, you lot are the rookies, right? Fresh out the academy, I wouldn't go making your names known before you've seen what you're up against."  
"Who asked you?!" Ino snaps at the silver haired guy, "who are you anyway?"  
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi" he answers, "and look around, you've made quite the impression. Over there, Rain Ninja, very touchy. I'd watch your step." I shiver, I will never not hate them.

"Anyway, how would you know, you're just rookies" Kabuto shrugs.  
"This isn't the first time you've entered is it?" I ask. He smiles a little awkwardly,  
"Well, no...it's my seventh, as it's every six months this is my fourth year" he answers.  
"Whoa, a veteran," Sakura mutters, "you must know a lot about the exams."  
"Yeah, you can tell us all the tricks, can't you?" Naruto grins.  
"Some expert" Shikamaru joins, "he's never passed."  
"Well, they say seventh time's the charm, right?" Kabuto laughs, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.  
"I knew this was going to be a drag" Shikamaru sighs, "may as well go home now."  
"Don't give up hope just yet" Kabuto smiles, "I might be able to help you guys out. With my ninja info card." The way he says it sends me into fits of laughter and Shino hits me on the back the head twice just to get me to shut up.  
"What the hell are those?" Sakura asks.  
"See I wasn't the only one" I hiss at Shino. He shakes his head,  
"I thought I told you to shut up." I glare at him, arms crossed but I eventually turn my attention back to Kabuto


	10. Unexplained Abilities: Gaara and Dosu

When my attention is back on Kabuto I see there's a map on one of the cards, not so pathetic after all.  
"It shows the number of Genin from each village" he explains.  
"What about the competitors? Got information on them?" Naruto asks. Kabuto nods,  
"Give me a name and I'll see what I can find" he answers.  
"Hogai Hayami" I suggest, I'll admit it, I'm curious.  
"He's new like you lot so I might not have much but I'll see" Kabuto mutters, spinning the card before something appears on it. "Impressive" he mutters, "sixteen D-rank missions, ten C-rank and a B-rank, though he wasn't left unscathed." Huh, remind you of anyone?  
"I have two" Sasuke says, "Rock Lee and Gaara of the Desert." Kabuto nods, Lee first,  
"A primary Taijutsu user, who doesn't appear to ahve any ninjutsu or genjutsu skills at all."  
"Now Gaara" Sasuke says in monotone, yet I can still tell how determined he is just to find out who this Sand Shinobi is.  
"Amazing...a B-rank again but with no marks left on him. Completely safe" Kabuto answers. Looks like we've got our work cut out then.

"I'd guess these Genin are elites from their respective villages, even the Sound Village which is so minor and underdeveloped" Kabuto remarks. Naruto grins,  
"I won't lose to any of you!" He yells and I get the temptation to hide behind Shino, as he is the closest person to me, rather than face the embarrassment. Everyone looks either annoyed or shocked, a few a mixture of the two. They're probably thinking "what a stupid kid, he'll be gone in no time" and "what a loser" no wait that's just Sasuke's train of thought. Three ninja are glaring in our and in seconds I really do hide behind Shino.  
"What's wrong?" He hisses in confusion, I just shake my head and peep over his shoulder at the Sound Ninja. They then disappear, darting around the room at a speed that is practically impossible.  
"What did you say about our village" demands one, his hair is brown and spiky, he has a some what mad look in his eye. He pulls out two kunai and throws towards Kabuto who only just manages to dodge them. Another sound ninja, this one covered head to toe in wrappings, goes to hit Kabuto but his fist is dodged every single time by Kabuto. This guy is fast, he's sure to pass this year. Yet his glasses crack and he goes pale.

"Oh I see, it was that kind of attack" Kabuto smiles, pulling off the frames of his glasses.  
"Wait, he dodged them all" Sasuke points out, "how come his glasses cracked?"  
"Must have come closer than it looked" Shikamaru suggests, "look at him acting all tough." Kabuto's eyes go wide all of a sudden and he collapses, throwing up as soon as his knees hit the ground. What...what made him do that? All of the rookies glare at the sound Ninja, along with Gai's team and the Sand Shinobi.  
"Kabuto?" Naruto asks as he and Sakura run over, "are you okay?"  
"Y-yeah, I'm fine" Kabuto stutters, lifting his head a little to look at the three sound ninja.  
"Not such a tough guy after all" laughs the one covered in wrappings.  
"Put this on your fancy little card" growls another, the one with brown spiky hair "the genin from the sound village will be Chuunin by the end of this, guaranteed." We're all scared now, I can feel that same fear from when we were escorting Lady Umeki. That was hell.

There's an explosion of smoke and we hear from behind it,  
"Don't you know it's against the rules to fight your fellow competitors before the exams begin?" Snaps a loud, deep voice, "now pipe down and listen up." We all turn to look at the speaker in shock. We see a man who in reality can't be that old yet...I've never seen someone who's eyes have seen more hell then needed in a life time.  
"Sorry, it's our first time" one of the other Sound Genin replies, "we got a little carried away." My attention is now off the sound Genin and on the massive number of Chunin and Jonin stood behind. Kotetsu and Izumo are there, as well as a few others that I know. No Genma or Hayate though, funny I thought they'd fit right into this kind of crowd.  
"Leave it now," snaps the man, who also has two long scars on his face, "follow us."


	11. The First Exam

"The use of fatal force is strictly prohibited" the man concludes.  
"No fatal force?" Questions the spiky haired Sound Ninja, "that's no fun." I see Kotetsu laugh a little, he looks a little smug as well.

We end up in one of the old rooms which contains row upon row upon row of desks. Each of us are given a seat via a number given to us once we've handed over our application forms. I'm sat around the middle of the second row, right behind Hogai and with a rain ninja beside me. Brilliant.  
"I am Ebiki Morino, the procter of the first exam" the scarred man states, "the first exam will be a written paper with ten questions." Kotetsu flicks the stack of papers in his hands, huh must have been why he looked so smug before. "Now, I shall explain the rules and there shall be no questions from anybody in this room, do I make myself clear?" We all nod in unison, all equally intimidated by this guy. "Good, now, the exam will consist of nine written questions and a final tenth which will be given with fifteen minutes of the exam left." I glance around a little and see the other Jonin and Chunin sat on chairs a meter away from the end of each row. I also see that Naruto is starting to freak out a little, I guess written exams aren't his forte.

Ebiki-Sensei then explains the rules.  
"Unlike most exams you will have taken this one starts off with you having full marks, a total of ten. A mark is lost for each wrong answer, so you could answer three wrong and have seven left. As well as any candidate caught cheating will immediately have two points deducted. If you are caught five times then you are immediately disqualified along with the rest of your team." Oh great so the whole burden is placed on your shoulders as well. Either way, here goes. "Start" Ebiki yells when we all have our test papers. I flip mine over and stare at the questions blankly. I can't answer most of them. Wait...he didn't tell us how many marks we needed to actually pass, rats. Alright Akahanna get your head together, answer the ones you can. I do just that, the first, second, fourth and seventh are the only ones I can answer as they all have something to do with range attacks and the speed of weapons. The others though, I'm not so sure. Surely they can't expect us to get full marks, can the- OH.

They want us to cheat, in fact the test seems to be screaming that now I've realised. I hope the others have worked that out, not that Sakura would need to though, she's probably the one everyone is cheating from. Alright, here we go. I pull out some of my leaves from my bag and set them on the table just as they start ripping themselves apart. The pain has me biting through my lip but I can stand it long enough I'm sure. Now for the difficult parts. I slip off the chair just as I mutter,"Leaf Clone Jutsu" and a duplicate appears in my place. I watch through a crack in the desk and can see Izumo looking right at my clone who is now putting the torn leaves back and tapping her pencil and biting it so it looks like me thinking. I wait a while and eventually his attention goes to else where in the room and he doesn't write anything down. Alright, safe there.

I close my eyes and picture my outline and fill it with Chakra. I grab my clones foot and she shakes her head while looking at the paper. Great. I can't be seen. I carefully wriggle out of the space between my clone and the table, watching the Chunin and Jonin like hawks. Nothing yet. I move across the room and look first at Hogai's answers as that's the easiest to get back to my seat. He has the third, fifth and sixth so I only need the last two now. I see a leaf fall off my clones leg, oh no. I dart back in seconds and collapse into the seat, the clone destroyed, only just giving me time to pull the leaves into an extremely small whirlwind and confine them into the bag, letting the them spin continously. Izumo is looking right at me again. He's writing something down, have I been caught, have I lost ma,  
"37, 42 and 63 you fail!" He shouts. Huh? I look at my number which is stuck onto the desk. 36. Wow I'm lucky, plus the rain ninja's gone so win win here.

Just before I try to re-execute the plan for getting the final two answers Ebiki stops the test.  
"There are fifteen minutes remaining, so I will now give you the tenth question. There are also some rules regarding this as well" he states, "firstly the question is not compulsory, so if you wish not to answer then you may raise your hand and you may leave, though you will again take your team mates with you but can take the test again whenever you see fit. Secondly if you stay and answer the question incorrectly then you will remain a Genin for life and can never take the test again." On that note quite a few people and their teams disappear. I can see out of the corner of my eye that Sakura is continously glancing at Naruto. She doesn't think he can answer it. Yet he won't raise his hand. I can see her arm begin to move, upwards. No, Sakura, please don't. He can answer it, I'm sure. The Naruto's hand shoots up. NO! Yet, as always Naruto is full of surprises,  
"Nothing's going to beat me down! Not any tenth question on an exam" he grins. Oh that boy. To all of our surprises Ebiki smiles,  
"You all pass!"  
"What?!" Sakura asks, half in delight, half slightly irritated, "what about the tenth question?"  
"There was no tenth question, though I suppose you could say it was whether you left or not. Chunin must have a sense of duty, even if it means something as serious as death, in your action of staying you have demonstrated that you will face any kind of danger." Well...that was a stressful and completely pointless 45 minutes then...I sounded really like a Nara then.


	12. Anko Mitarashi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((Some of the chapters get really short from here, sorry!))

"Better not to cheat than to cheat poorly" Ebiki states, pulling off his Hitai-ate to reveal the top of his head. It's badly scarred and there are what looks like screw marks. He must have been through hell ten times over. "Information, you may have to risk your life to get it."  
"What a mess" Sasuke mutters, "who knows what he endured." I look down at my hands to find myself shaking while Ebiki continues talking. How...how can there be people who can put other human beings through so much pain? I shiver involuntarily and find myself listening again,  
"Do you have a choice to say that you and your comrade would like to live to fight another day? Can you choose to pass on this infinite danger? NO. There will be missions that will seem suicidal but you cannot think about that. You focus only on the goal of your mission and achieve it with courage and good tactics. Those are the two most important qualities of a chunin squad leader." Sounds like hell to me alright.

Two kunai whistle through the air and a purple cloak is thrown up to reveal a purple haired woman in a beige coat and orange skirt, the rest of her covered by fishnets. Ebiki sighs and shakes his head as she says,  
"Alright listen up boys and girls," okay she's annoying, "this is no time to be celebrating! I'm be your next procter, Anko Mitarashi. You ready for it, lets go!" Okay now who does she remind me of...lets see...Naruto! I swear if he's like that in ten years time I'm going to go join my step father in the rain village and that's saying something.  
"Anko...you're early...again" Ebiki sighs. She goes red and then frowns at us all, particularly me for a good few seconds,  
"Ebiki? How many are there, you let them all pass. You've gone soft" she mutters.  
"Or there are a better candidates this year" Ebiki suggests.  
"Perhaps" she then turns to us again, glaring at me again before her eyes survey the room, "alright you've had it easy so far, I let your Squad leaders know where you should meet first thing tomorrow morning" she smirks, "dismissed."

"She was weird" I mutter, shivering again.  
"Tell me about it" Sakura agrees. I shake my head a little,  
"Not the kind of weird you guys think she...she kept glaring at me...I don't know why. Did my family do something to hers in the past, I don't understand."  
"Now you mention it, she did keep doing that, maybe you should ask Kakashi if he knows anything about it" Sasuke suggests. I nod but when I do come to asking he just shakes his head, saying he doesn't know why.

"W-what is this place?" Naruto asks when all the Genin have assembled outside where Anko-Sensei is.  
"It's technically training ground 44" she then smirks again, "but we like to call it the forest of death." We all gulp in unison, this test is getting scarier than Anko. There's a thunking sound and we turn around to see a fake rock...okay then...and do these have anything to do with the exam? Naruto walks away from it and it follows him...okay then. He runs and it jumps up on to legs and darts after him. Must be those academy kids that Hiroshi is friends with again, but why now, surely they know the exams are going on. He finally turns around and says,  
"Again, no such thing as square rocks!"  
"You saw through the camouflage again boss!" Laughs a voice, so it is those kids, or at least one of them.  
"What are you doing here anyway, you're kind of interrupting the exams" Naruto asks.  
"We came here for an exclusive interview" Moegi giggles. Really? Oh good.  
"Hey! You're holding up the exam" Anko yells.  
"We came her for an interview though!" Moegi replies. Anko laughs,  
"I forgot all about that, alright ten minute break." What even is this woman?


	13. Protect Him

With the interviews over, the time of which I took to talk to the other teams and Hogai, Anko calls us back to the meeting place.  
"No forest of death scares me!" Naruto laughs. Anko grins and throws two kunai at him, one missing and the other scratching his cheek. She appears behind instantly and laughs in a sinister manner,  
"Tough guy huh? People like you often leave their blood all over this forest" she then starts wiping off the blood but turns in an instant as one of the kunai is thrown back at her. She catches it while a grass ninja walks up to her...the kunai being held by the Grass ninja's forked tongue. That's an...that's odd to say the least.  
"I was just returning your knife" the grass ninja smiles, in a similar sinister style to Anko. Wow, this girl is even creepier. Who knows what we're going to be up against in the forest.  
"Thank you Grass Ninja" Anko smiles a fake, sweet and sarcastic smile. There's a silence before Anko warns, "you know, you should only stand this close behind me if you want to reach a premature end."  
"My pardon, I meant no harm" the Grass ninja smirks before backing off. Yeah right.

Then consent forms are handed out, basically if we die but we sign these it's not Anko's responsibility. Oh great, thanks for that. I frown at mine for a little before I feel a hand on my shoulder, I look up in shock,  
"N-Neji?" He smiles very slightly,  
"You'll be fine little rose, just sign it."  
"That's not creepy at all" I mumble as I sign it and he walks off.  
"And it's not weird you've gone bright red either" Sasuke points out. My head shoots up,  
"I've what?!" Sasuke shakes his head,  
"You heard me, you might want to try and avoid that every time you're near him because that's what always happens. You're as bad as Ino and Sakura around that guy."  
"I hate you so much sometimes" I mutter, glaring at him.

We're then given a description of the training ground and also an explanation about the two scrolls, 13 Heaven and 13 Earth.  
"WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO FOR FOOD?!" Choji demands when told we'll be in there for five days.  
"You just have to take a good look around, there's plenty for all of you" Anko answers with a faint shrug.  
"That's not all the forest has" Kabuto reminds her, "there's man eating beasts for a start." Oh brilliant, man eating beasts, maybe poisonous foods AND fighting other teams. This is slowly edging it's way into a nightmare. When Anko finishes explaining she adds one more thing with a sigh,  
"Just don't die!" Cheery. Anyway when they're giving out scrolls Naruto takes our forms and swaps them for a Heaven Scroll.  
"Wait just one second" says one of the men, "which one of you is Akahanna Akiyama?" I raise my hand slightly, frowning at him. He hands me a closed letter and tells me to open it before the test begins. I wonder what it is.

While Naruto is yelling I open the letter. It's..it's from the Hokage. Oh man, what could this be.  
Mission order (B-rank)

You are to protect Hogai of the Hayami clan. The Leaf Village need a strong alliance with the Hayami family and their many associates in order to keep the peace and it will be your job to protect their heir. Be prepared to give your life so he may succeed in the exams, least our alliance be destroyed. in order to do this part from your team, giving them the real reason, and form once again near the end of the five days or when you finish the exam. Protect him.  
Even more weight on my shoulders, brilliant. I hear a metal clink and see the chain fall off the gate in front of us, it can't be long now. Only seconds later the gates are open and we go straight from the boiling water into the frying pan.


	14. The Forest of Death

As soon as we are covered I stop everyone.  
"What?" Sasuke asks, "we have no time to be staying in one place."  
"This is important" I reply, glaring at him, "I'm breaking from the team now, it's be-"  
"WHAT?!" Naruto yells.  
"Keep it down Naruto, let her explain" Sakura snaps, though she too looks quite confused.  
"Well?" Sasuke hisses, he doesn't look all too pleased to be perfectly honest. I hold up the letter I got from the Hokage,  
"You know the boy with green hair that we saw at the gate Sasuke?" He nods in answer, "he's part of an seemingly elite clan that the village needs an alliance wit, Lord Hokage wants me to protect him. I will be rejoining the team later on."  
"How do we know you're not lying?" Sasuke hisses. I grin a little,  
"Test me."  
"Make three clones" Sasuke answers. I do just that and as always the third isn't quite complete, a leaf falling here and there.  
"Alright, go" he answers. I frown,  
"You think I'd go without leaving a way to communicate with me?" I hand each of them a yellow leaf, "be careful with these, if they get ripped even the slightest they send a direct message of" I cough" pain" I cough again, "to me and I will come and find you. Unlike the others I can follow this one so I can find you in a matter of minutes if not seconds. If I'm in trouble the part that is damaged will go brown so check it." I then disappear, trying to find Hogai.

There's a rapid offence of Kunai thrown at me and I scream as I fall out of the tree.  
"IT'S ME YOU IDIOT" I yell at Hogai.  
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT" Hogai yells back.  
"I'd keep my voice down if I was you two" hisses a sinister voice. We both turn around and see a group of rain ninja. These guys are everywhere jeez.  
"Well, well, well if it isn't the two love birds" laughs the one who attacked me before the exams began.  
"How about you all shut up and challenge us" Hogai hisses. This guy can be pretty hot headed when he wants to be, wow. They all grin in unison.  
"You're an idiot" I mutter.  
"Play a long with me here, I know what I'm doing" he mutters back. Well, there's nothing for it. I throw up my leaves into a whirlwind and wait.

The first tries an assault of Senbon, I can see where their name comes from now. It's useless as I use my leaf armour jutsu which covers my body in a matter of seconds, thanks to it now being well practised compared to the last time I used it, and Hogai uses the same wave technique he used on the other. One tries to come up from behind us but we both duck before they can hit us, before they can land on the floor I send out a string of leaves and wrap it securely round their leg. I throw them back and they collide with a tree behind me, I can hear them slump and assume for now they place no threat. When I look up a choking sound rings through my ears and I see the third rain ninja with a hand around their throat. I look over at Hogai and see the arm is extended from his palm and really it's some kind of liquid. Eventually the leader slumps and the hand disappears. They're dead.  
"Seen as your team mate's no longer able to complete you may as tell us which scroll you have" Hogai demands of the first ninja to attack and the only one left standing. He's tremebling and I find myself grinning...who knew you could become such a sadist.  
"Either way give it too us" I smile. The rain ninja's shaking hands pull out a heaven scroll and tosses it towards us. Hogai catches it and the rain ninja runs for his life.

Only a few minutes later we find ourselves almost clashing with Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. I hear them saying they can't just trust appearances and their code word before I walk out of the bushes, Hogai following. I have to prove it's myself with the clone.  
"You didn't happen to clash with another ninja just now, did you?" I ask. Sasuke nods,  
"A rain ninja, he was impersonating Naruto before attacking us."  
"Huh, you too? Those guys seem like they're every where" I mutter, "we have both scrolls by the way, we aren't aiming to take yours." I show them to him and he nods before standing,  
"Alright, I'll take ours." There's an odd whistle before a heavy gale of wind tares through the forest, almost blowing all of us off our feet. The grass ninja and her team appear in front of us. Great. Just great


	15. The Grass Kunoichi

The five of us disperse immediately, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto going alone while Hogai follows me.  
"Alright you two, go out into the woods and keep your eyes open, I'll deal with this" smirks the female Grass ninja.  
"Come on, lets go find Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto" I mutter to Hogai before starting to shuffle through the bushes, following the yellow leaf he has.  
"Akahana?" He asks, he then holds up his kunai and I create the same clone as before.  
"You know Sasuke, you really ought to find a new way to identify me, I'll end up dead otherwise" I sigh. Sakura appears and Sasuke holds up his kunai once again and doesn't drop it until Sakura recites the passcode perfectly. Before we know it Naruto appears as well, only there's a problem. He recites it perfectly as well. That's not Naruto. Sasuke throws his kunai straight at "Naruto" who just manages to dodge it.  
"I'll hand it you, you're quicker the last one."  
"Since when has Naruto been able to recite something like that word for word" I state, "so, show yourself." A long tongue licks "Naruto's" lips before a puff of smoke and there is the grass kunoichi.

"Tell me" she says, "if your team mate is so dimwitted then why would you come up with something he'd never remember?"  
"That's how we'd know there was an imposter" Sasuke answers, "the real Naruto would never be able to remember something."  
"Imposters are perfectionists" I add, "that's their only flaw."  
"I'm impressed" she smiles before pulling out her scroll. The earth scroll, the one MY team needs. "Oh you'd love to get your hands on this wouldn't you" she smirks, "too bad." She then tips her head back and pushes the scroll into her mouth, swallowing it. "So, when this is over one of us will have both" she giggles manically, "and the other will be dead." Before we know it we're trapped in some kind world, cloudy black and glaring white and the screams of our comrades fill our ears. When we're let go, all four of us fall back, myself having to lean against a tree. Sasuke falls onto his hands and knees, throwing up before managing to regain some sense of mind and looking at Sakura. She's shaking violently, staring right at the Leaf Kunoichi. We have to get away.

Sasuke some how manages to push himself to his feet, shaking but never the less managing. However he seems to freeze halfway and the grass kunoichi starts walking towards us, kunai in hand.  
"Don't worry, I'll make it quick" she laughs, "though why I'm telling you I don't know." Before they can hit us though Sasuke stabs himself in the thigh to regain the feeling of mobility before doing the same to me in the arm, he grabs Sakura while I grab Hogai and we disappear in seconds. Resting for a few seconds on a tree branch he yanks it out of his leg,  
"Will you be alright?" Sakura asks but Sasuke slaps his hand over her mouth and looks around, frowning. He's still concentrating on getting away from the Grass Kunoichi then.  
"Move!" I yell and we all force ourselves into the air as a snake bites down on the branch, narrowly missing us. Sasuke literally screams,  
"STAY AWAY" before pelting the snake with shuriken, killing it instantly. Man...I've never seen him so scared. Yet who should appear from the snake's body but the Grass Kunoichi. Her tongue practically falls out of her mouth and she starts wrapping her body round the tree as a snake would, going straight for Sasuke. However before she can reach him about five shuriken land in the tree just above her head.  
"Looks like I came just in time!" Naruto laughs. Indeed he did.


	16. An Unbelievable Truth

Yet before Naruto can react the Kunoichi's tongue wraps around him. His eyes fade back to their normal blue and he yells,  
"GET THAT OFF ME BEFORE I RIP IT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH." He struggles as the kunoichi brings him closer while five purple flames ignite on the end of her fingers. She slams them into his stomach and he screams in pain.  
"Sasuke do something!" Sakura yells. The kunoichi pulls out the heaven scroll then tosses Naruto aside. Sakura quickly throws two kunai which pin him to the tree.  
"Sasuke? What's wrong with you?" I yell at him, he just stands in dumb shock.

"Coward!" I yell at him, he looks away, shaking before turning back.  
"NO!" He yells as his sharingan activates. That's the Sasuke I know now. The grass ninja's snake disappears and while Sakura and I protect our eyes from the smoke Sasuke just stands, watching. This is most definitely the Sasuke I know.

Sasuke gets out a kunai and puts it between his teeth before running at the ninja who seems to have started making hand signs already. Sasuke avoids the attack and throws the kunai, missing...yet it doesn't seem to matter. He goes straight down and he and the grass ninja engage in a flurry of kicks, punches and blocks, neither of them being scratched. Sasuke then attempts using his fireball jutsus, only they don't work but they make a damn good statement. Don't mess with an Uchiha. The kunoichi destroys the entire branch but Sasuke is up in the air immediately. As she concentrates he moves down and grabs her round the waist, preforming something similar to Lee's technique so she lands on her head. Yet it melts away, substitution. Sasuke is off in minutes to avoid another attack only to be kicked and punched repeatedly.

"The Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you" she mutters. Yet he has one more trick up his sleeve. He's on his feet immediately and with he surprise he throws shuriken attached to ninja thread. The grass kunoichi ends up tied to a tree. Sasuke makes hand signs quickly and thread ignites, the air soon being filled with the grass ninja's scream. Dead, I'm sure.  
"Sasuke!" Sakura yells, going to him and helping him stand straight. There's a noise from the tree and it's the thread snapping.  
"Such fine mastery" the voice changes, it becomes a little more dry "of the Sharingan at such a young age, you really are a true Uchiha." I shiver, as I am hidden behind a tree trunk with Hogai. Then it hits me. I know that voice. That was the voice of the person who healed me on the mission with Team Gai. H-h-how? How could someone saved my life be trying to take Sasuke's.  
"If anything your eyes are keener than Itachi's." His name. HIS NAME. I feel hate build up inside me.  
"Who are you?" Sasuke shouts, "what do you want?!" I appear,  
"Remember me?!" I yell.  
"Of course I do" he smiles, "how could I forget my own daughter?" That's it, that's all I hear before something knocks against my head and it all goes black.


	17. Don't Go Chasing After Someone When You Don't Know Their Whole Story

It must be hours later but I find myself awake, leaning against a tree with a sleeping Hogai beside me. He must have been keeping watch, ho-SHIT. I grab his bag and open it, phew, the scrolls are still there. I close it and lean back, staring into space. Those last words I heard,  
"How could I forget my own daughter?"I mean, I always knew that mentioning my father was taboo. When I was younger I asked once and my mother told me never to mention it. When I talked about with any of the six students they'd always look a little worried or disturbed. Perhaps this is why...not perhaps, this is why. There's someone stood in front of me...how did I not notice? They lean down, it's him again. He grabs my face and smiles,  
"My, my look how pretty you've grown." I hit his hand and he lets go,  
"Keep your filthy hands off of me" I hiss, ready to protect Hogai any second. He tuts and stands,  
"Nobody teach you to respect your elders...then again I suppose that would have been my job, had I been able to stick around."  
"Who are you?" I ask, glaring. He laughs,  
"I'm surprised you don't know, oh well. I am Orochimaru" he answers.  
"Where did such a broad claim as being my father come from" I ask with a scoff, yet I refuse to meet his eyes. They're the same shape as mine, that was my only distinguishable feature that my mother did not have.  
"It's not a claim, it's the truth" he replies. I shake my head,  
"Like I believe that."  
"You will one day. One day you'll be on my side. You seek power, just like Uchiha, you even have the same intentions. So listen to this advice, 'don't go chasing after someone until you know their full story.'" With that he disappears.

After the encounter, it crosses my mind...who knocked me out? Was it Orochimaru? Or someone else? Could it have been Sasuke, he was stood beside me after all. I shake Hogai awake gently,  
"We need to keep moving" I whisper, "while some may call it a day there will be others who use this as an opportunity." He nods and we set off immediately, doting about the forest as we do. However long this feels like it lasts, it's going to be one hell of a ride.

By the next day we find ourselves in one of the many trees. I'm watching while Hogai sleeps. Huh...is that Neji, alone? That's not normal. I let one of my leaves go, it's definitely him, there seems to be no unbalance in the amount of chakra he has. Hmm, odd. Wait there's three more...really, Choji, Ino and Shikamaru? Oh great. Wait what the hell are they doing?! They all appear and Ino giggles,  
"Imagine running into last year's number one rookie, Neji Hyuuga out here." I try not to snort with laughter as Shikamaru asks,  
"Can I have your autograph?" By now my insides are starting to churn a little and I'm hugging my knees trying not to laugh. Ino then undoes her hair and smiles sickly sweet,  
"I've been wanting to meet you for a really long time now." I must look like I'm about to explode and I certainly feel that way.  
"Get lost" Neji sighs, turning around and walking away. Ino starts punching the air and Neji stops, "Did you just raise your fist to me? Does that mean you want to fight?"  
"No! No of course not" Ino answers, now looking quite scared...fair enough.  
"Oh well, even if I did take your scroll everyone would just laugh at me for it, go away" Neji sighs. I'd like to know how he can keep so calm all the time...it confuses me, I would have snapped about 5 seconds ago.  
"Sounds go to me" Ino says as the three disappear.

"Don't think you can hide as easily" Neji says, looking right up at the tree branch I'm kneeling on. I drop down to the ground, glaring at him playfully,  
"Well, seems you never can creep up on someone with Byakugan" I smile.  
"You only just worked it out?" He smirks. I grin back but then frown,  
"Prove it's you. Who's the closest to me out of the six in age range?"  
"Hayate, there's ten years between you" Neji answers. I smile but then sigh and look away, Neji comes close and puts a gentle hand on my cheek, making me move my head to face him. I lift my own hand to his and held onto it gently,  
"I don't know how long I can stand this" I whisper, "it's only the second day and I'm completely at wit's end."  
"You'll be fine Little Rose" Neji smiles comfortingly. I let out a soft breath of laughter,  
"I saw you rejecting Ino as you probably guessed" I smile with a laugh, "something to keep my sprites up." Neji grinned back and moved his hand away,  
"She was annoying, the blond girl right?" I nod and he laughs."I should probably go" I mutter, looking away awkwardly and then up to the branch Hogai is on, I presume he's still sleeping.  
"Before you do" he replies hurriedly. I look up just as he slams his lips on mine, our cheek bones banging accidentally. When he pulls away I find myself staring,  
"N-Neji...I...I" all I seem to be able to do is stutter.  
"I probably shouldn't have done that" he mumbles. I shake my head and hug him tightly. "Oh, your shaking...I'm sorry" he mumbles. I pull away all of a sudden, gripping my chest and panting, letting out choked screams.  
"Akahanna? Akahanna can you hear me?" He asks hurriedly, looking quite scared. It's Hogai...he's in trouble...deep trouble.

"You're going to have to...help me here be...cause if you don't we're in deep, deep trouble" I stutter. He frowns but nods, following me as I go from tree to tree, following the pain. As I get closer instead of lessening like I thought it would it increases. My breaths become shorter but I have to keep going, pulling leaves with me as I go.  
"Hogai?" I scream, some how managing. We appear to be going in circles but we're still just right behind him and the attacker.  
"HELP!" He yells, I can't tell if he's heard me or not. By the time we find him I feel like I'm being stabbed repeatedly in the chest, and trust me I know what it feels like.

"Leaf Flame Tornado" I yell, throwing the mass amount of leaves at Hogai's attacker, "Hogai move!" As the attacker is distracted Hogai manages to slip off the branch and hang onto it just. My attack knocks the attacker off the branch and sends them towards the ground, screaming in pain. Well, at least I can say the 7th jutsu's first use was a success. Neji goes straight after them and I go to Hogai,  
"Are...you o-o-okay?" I ask, while that leaf is still ripped in half it feels like it's doing the same to my chest. He nods hurridely and we both hear a yell of pain followed by choking noises, he looks more terrified and I can tell my own eyes have gone wide in terror. That sounded like Neji. "S-s-stay here" I mumble, "we'll find you."

I go straight down to find Neji and on the way find other half of the yellow leaf, the other is in Hogai's hand. I find Neji being held against a tree, being choked by the attacker. I pull up my leaves quickly and mutter,  
"Leaf Concealment." I get as close as I can before I let the concealment go and crash both the leaves and my body into the attacker. I let out a muffled scream as the pain shoots through me, carry on like this and it'll kill me. I end up wrestling with the ninja before I some how manage to pin them to the ground. Without even thinking I plunge a kunai into their chest.

I stay where I am for what feels like hours, kneeling with my leg across their stomach to hold them down with blood splashed up my arms, taking laboured and painfilled breaths. I hear faint coughs and rustle as someone pushes themselves to their feet. I feel familiar arms hook round me and pull me away from the ninja's body before leaning me against a tree. During the fight my Hitai-ate seems to have come lose and falls off, leaving my forehead exposed for the first time in a while. Neji gently leans his head against against mine, muttering,  
"Everything's okay now", however he's forced to move away when my body jerks forward and I hug my chest in pain.  
"Bring Hogai here" I mutter hoarsely, "he's where h-he was before."  
"No need" says a voice."Bring me the other half of the leaf" I mumble, pulling the other towards me. As I seal the two I wonder how I kept up the fight while in so much pain.

For a while I'm just lying on the floor, curled into a ball and shaking. Once I manage to sit up again the two boys immediately start talking.  
"Don't use the yellow leaf again" Hogai suggests, "it looks like this time almost killed you."  
"You've given them to others haven't you" Neji states.  
"How do you know?" I ask, frowning a little. He hands me a letter almost identical to my own from the Hokage.  
"I was there making sure no one else from rival villages heard what you had to say to your team, I saw you give them the leaves therefore" Neji answers. I sigh a little,  
"There's got to be a third on this squad and we've got to find them and succeed in this test" I shake my head, "this is just getting more and more difficult by the second."


	18. What Has He Become?

Really me and Hogai are just biding our time now, waiting for Team 7 to get their scrolls so we can get out. They technically need me with them to pass, even with the circumstances that Lord Hokage has created.  
"We should go find my team" I sigh, "I need to know if anything bad happened to them." Hogai nods, I smile a little, "You don't talk much do you."  
"I don't think it's the wisest thing to do while on a mission" he answers.  
"Yes but what about team work" I point out.  
"Most missions we go on alone" he answers, "we don't really have teams unless it's urgent or to throw off an enemy."  
"You know for someone who's supposed to be so elite" I sigh, "you kinda suck."  
"I like to save my energy for when I need it" he replies. Haven't changed a bit then since you glared at me for no reason.

I look up and frown, before going higher into the trees,  
"Neji? Tenten?" I shout. They both stop and turn around,  
"Oh it's you" Neji sighs, he looks tired, they must have been moving for a while.  
"You seem in a hurry, what gives, where's Lee?" I ask.  
"That's the problem" Tenten answers, "we don't know."  
"Well, we're looking for my team as well and judging by Lee's...how do I say this...reaction to Sakura they'll be close by," I reply "anyway the more of us the more defence we have. I don't feel all to confident with scardy lazy boy over here to watch my back in return for me watching his."  
"To think that you were trying to sa-" Hogai starts.  
"Shut up, I thought you thought that talking wasn't a good idea on a mission" I cut him off.  
"Lets just get going" Neji mutters, turning round and activating his Byakugan again.

Turns out my prediction was right as well, we do actually find Lee with my team.  
"Lee!" Tenten yells when she sees the state he's in, which is bruised up and passed out on the floor.  
"You blew it" Neji sighs, I put the fool mood down to fatigue from lack of sleep and using his eyes too much.  
"Don't be so harsh" I mutter, he just glares at me...okay maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. He then turns his attention back to the Sound Ninja who are stood in the clearing below us,  
"However if there's someone that uses our team mate as a punching bag" Neji pauses a second, "I won't let anybody get away with it!" He activates his byakugan again causing the sound ninja covered in wrappings to stare. However in just a few seconds the fierce look in Neji's eyes completely disappears.  
"What's wrong?" Tenten asks in surprise.  
"Are you going to stay up there forever or come down and fight us?!" Demands the same ninja.  
"Actually, I believe it's been taken out of our hands" Neji replies, smiling a little.

We all look down and see Sasuke encased by some kind of chakra, it's purple unlike his regular colour. What's going on? What's that mark on his neck? He starts to move and brings himself to a stand, the purple chakra forming something that looks a little like a barricade between us and him. Neji grabs my sleeve and twists the fabric in his hand so I can't get away,  
"I know what you're like, I don't think it'd be wise to interfere" he hisses.  
"Sakura" Sasuke mutters, "who did this to you?" She doesn't answer, "Who was it?!" Sasuke demands, his voice raising slightly. The purple barricade starts to fade and while there is still a line that's spinning round him we can see him now. Black marks cover half of his body and looks terrifying, his eyes look madder than I've ever seen them before and believe me when an Uchiha smiles during a battle thy look pretty sadistic anyway.  
"Sasuke...that's not the Sasuke Uchiha I know" I mumble, I feel Neji's grip tighten.  
"He made me realise what I was, I am an avenger and to follow my path I need power" Sasuke grins, "even if it means being consumed by evil."  
"What's happened to him..." I mutter, staring, with no intention of trying to intervene now.

Sasuke asks one more time but Sakura doesn't need to answer,  
"That'd be me" laughs one of the sound nin, the one with spiky hair.  
"Ino get back to your body, Choji you come back as well, we don't want to get involved in this" Shikamaru yells. They're here too?! Seems like quite a crowd. I look back at Sasuke and see the black marks have gone red and are spreading, the look in his eyes maddening by the second.  
"What's wrong Dosu, you aren't getting cold feet are you?" Laughs the same sound nin.  
"No Zaku, you don't know what you're getting into" the one in wrappings warns. Zaku laughs,  
"I'll take them out in seconds." This...this guy seems like an idiot.


	19. Monsters

"SUPER SONIC SLICING WAVE" screams the voice of Zaku and we all fall to our knees, hands clamped over our ears as they start to hurt an immense amount. When it finally stops there's a hole in the ground and Zaku is panting with effort, "well, what do you know, blew them all away."  
"Not quite" Sasuke's voice rings and he hits Zaku with little effort but so hard that he goes flying.  
"Zaku!" Dosu yells, he then stares at Sasuke...not so cocky now I see. Before anything else can be said or yelled Sasuke starts making hand signs, quicker than I've ever seen him make them before,  
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke yells. Zaku tries using his odd air type jutsu from his hands but it just blows away the fire and reveals the real danger. Shuriken.  
"Zaku get down" Dosu yells but it's so quick Zaku has no time. Only seconds later Sasuke is behind him, a foot on his back and holding both arms behind him. That mad look comes back,  
"You must be very proud of those arms of yours" Sasuke grins, "you must be attached to them."  
"NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Zaku screams in terror. Sasuke just grins at him and without hesitation he breaks Zaku's arm. What has he become? A monster?

It is only to be proved by him turning to look at a trembling Dosu and saying with maniacal glee,  
"Looks like you're the only one left, I hope you make things more interesting than your friend."As he starts walking Sakura pulls herself to her feet and runs after him,  
"No! Stop!" She screams as she collides with him, her arms going round his middle, "don't do it. Please don't do it." They seem to be the only thing that exist now and all of us are staring. Sasuke stares at her for a little and then the marks light again and recede to the three tamoe on his neck.

Dosu pulls his scroll from the mound of fur like material on his back and kneels, placing it on the ground.  
"You're strong Sasuke, too strong" he sighs, "take this and let us go." He then picks up Zaku and the Kunoichi of their team and adds,"Be warned, should we ever again meet in combat we shall not run or hide." With that he starts walking away.  
"Wait! Who is this Orochimaru and what has he done to Sasuke? Why Sasuke" Sakura yells. It...it was Orochimaru who did this?  
"I don't know" Dosu answers, "all I know is that we were told to target Sasuke which we have done. I don't know why he sent us to kill someone whom he had bestowed so much power on and was so close to her" Dosu looks up at me and I take a quick breath of surprise while Neji, Tenten, Hogai and team 10 all stare at me for a second. He then turns and continues walking away.

Commotion begins as Team 10 all go to help my team and Neji and Tenten watch Lee while Hogai continues to stare at me.  
"Who's Orochimaru?" Neji demands, turning to glare at me.  
"It's no use lying to any of you, you all know me too well" I sigh, "Orochimaru is a sound Shinobi but he's not like the three we've just seen, he's much more powerful. He also claims to be my father." I bow my head and close my eyes in something like shame. I wipe a tear from my eye which until I rubbed my eye I had no idea was there. How...how could I possibly be related even distantly to someone like that. A power hungry living version of pure evil.  
"Your father..." Tenten mutters in surprise.  
"All these years, I thought he was dead and if it's true then all I can hope it isn't" I reply, shaking my head.


	20. I'll Probably Lose It Anyway

"ARGH!" Naruto yells as Choji hits him on the back of the head, waking him up in an instant. He then dives at the floor, saying something about the grass kunoichi.  
"You're a little behind, Naruto" I laugh from the tree branch which I'm now sat on rather than stood.  
"You really are annoying aren't you" Shikamaru sighs, Choji nodding in agreement.  
"Who thought the dead lasts would turn against each other" I smile mockingly as Naruto glares at the other two. He then turns to look at Sakura, suddenly running over to her,  
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?!" He demands.  
"If I were him I'd be more bothered about how much her face is beaten up" Neji mutters.  
"Naruto is well...Naruto" I sigh, shaking my head.  
"So why are you lot here?" Naruto asks, turning and looking at Shikamaru and Choji who are now stood behind him. Sakura smiles,  
"Everyone just turned up to help." She's changed I can tell, and it's definitely for the better.

Tenten takes her leave and appears in front of Ino,  
"I'll take care of him from now Ino" she smiles. Ino hands Lee over and Tenten immediately starts shaking his shoulders, "COME ON LEE PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!"  
"Tenten? Is that you?" Lee asks, his voice wavering a little, "what are you doing here?"  
"I came to help you silly" Tenten smiles again, man she has a very split personality.  
"It's perfectly normal" Neji laughs, I must have been pulling a face. While Tenten is lecturing Lee Naruto turns up,  
"I know you! Bushy brow!" He laughs.  
"Hey! You better not say anything bad about Lee!" Sakura yells at him, hitting Naruto so he goes ten feet away.  
"That's...not so normal" Neji comments, eye brows raised.  
"She's apparently like a tiny Tsunade when it comes to physical strength" I explain.

"You've not even noticed have you" Neji smiles.  
"Noticed what?" I ask. He crouches down beside me and puts a hand on my forehead. I jump back and almost fall out of the tree, only just managing to hook my arms around the branch. Sasuke is staring up at me and he has a mischievous grin on his face.  
"Hey tomato!" He yells, laughing...that's the first time I've ever seen a Sasuke like that as well.  
"Hey! That's not fa-ARGH" I am stopped mid sentence by my arms slipping off the branch. Neji grabs my hand before I'm completely out of reach, he sighs,  
"You really do have your dumb moments don't you."   
"Don't we all?" I reply.  
"No" he answers before pulling me back onto the the branch and hands me my headband.  
"Thanks...I guess" I mumble, tying it round my head again.

"Akahanna! Get down here!" Sasuke yells at me. I go, frowning at me, Hogai and Neji follow.  
"What?" I ask, arms folded.  
"We need to discuss the mission that the Hokage has sent you on" he answers. Neji intervenes,  
"She's not the only one, three of us have been assigned to this though who the third is we don't know yet." Sasuke nods,  
"Alright this changes things. As Hogai and our team both have the scrolls you can either stick with us or travel with Team Gai."  
"Either way you'd still have about the same amount protection, as of what we've just seen" Neji adds.  
"Well it says to go back my team so I guess that's what I should do" I answer, "anyway you always seem to be able to find me so I'm sure it makes no odds." I then undo my headband and hand it Neji, "I'll probably just lose it anyway."  
"How will they know you're a Leaf Shinobi?" Sasuke asks. I take off the white cover and smile, all it did was cover my chest which was already covered anyway. There it is, the leaf sign on my shoulder.


	21. Kabuto's Helping Hand

I honesty came to regret my decision of staying with my own team, despite the fact it was necessary. It was easy to see that Hogai did not in anyway get on with Sasuke and Naruto, evident when me and Sakura sent the three of them fishing on the fourth morning. They came back, all three of them yelling at each other. They also didn't seem to like how lazy Hogai appeared to be...which was fair enough, it was pretty annoying.  
"Wait" I mutter while we're waiting for the fish to cook, "I thought you said you had both scrolls."  
"It was so you didn't try and take it" Sasuke replies, studying the earth scroll he's holding.  
"Honestly Sasuke, your lack of trust offends me" I sigh, "Hogai may not need me but I need you three so I can pass, as long as he has the scrolls he passes."  
"Either way, there might not be any heaven scrolls left" Sakura sighs.  
"That's cheery" Sasuke remarks.  
"We've used up 80% of the time and there are 26 teams left, 27 if you count Hogai, but only 14 can pass" Sakura adds.  
"Anyway, Orochimaru burnt the Heaven scroll we had after Akahanna was knocked out" Sasuke mutters.  
"That reminds me, by who?" I intervene.  
"Orochimaru, he seemed to want to get you out of harms way for some reason" Sakura answers.  
"I wonder why" I mumble.

After continuing the discussion without haste and Sasuke leaving to go and get some clean water I find Naruto staring at the scroll. However on his proposal that we look inside the scroll Sakura just calls him an idiot. Despite this he carries on but still is rejected.  
"Maybe next time keep your brilliant idea to yourself, we have enough problems" Sakura sighs.  
"Wait, we do have one clue" Naruto says, his "bright idea face" making one of it's first appearances, "we may not have a heaven scroll but we do have an earth scroll, I'm going to open it and read it." Sakura tries to protest but eventually it seems like that is the only option. We can't use Hogai's scroll, that would get him disqualified which is the last thing Hogai, Neji, the mystery third member and myself need. So Naruto starts going ahead, despite looking quite nervous about it.

Just as Naruto starts turning it over Kabuto appears and grabs his hand so he can't move it.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" he mutters, a small smile on his face.  
"I cannot believe you guys!" Sasuke yells at us when he comes back.  
"If I hadn't come along when I did then they would have been toast" Kabuto adds, we all mumble sorry and Kabuto continues, "I've seen what the scrolls can do, they contain a hypnosis jutsu, it knocks you senseless and when you wake up the exams are already over."  
"Kabuto right?" Sasuke asks, he doesn't look all too trustful of this guy but I can't say I agree, especially if he just saved us I guess. Kabuto then explains that he has both scrolls and that he's on his way to the tower to meet with the rest of his team.

As he goes to walk away Sasuke snaps,  
"Hold it, I'll fight you for it."  
"Really? You'll fight me for it" Kabuto's grinning and I have to fight the urge to frown at him.  
"I don't have time to be playing nice" Sasuke replies, his eyes thinning a little. Naruto jumps in immediately,  
"In case you've forgotten this guy saved us!"  
"Naruto has a point, we don't really want to fight him do we" Sakura agrees.  
"You're lying" Kabuto remarks and we all turn to look at him in slight surprise, "come on, really, if winning was all that matter then why would you so openly challenge me? Why not sneak up on me and attack while I was leaving. Here's the deal, I'll show you the way to go."  
"In return for what?" I ask.  
"Not attacking me" Kabuto answers, "now, we better hurry, that cooking fire is going to attract every wild beast and all of the competition to this spot."

While we're travelling Kabuto starts explaining how to get the scrolls in the best way, should any of us have to take the test again I imagine.  
"Now I'm starting to understand why you brought us along with you" Sasuke grins, "you're frightened aren't you."  
"You bet I am" Kabuto laughs...that was not the response I was expecting in all honesty. By night fall the tower is in sight and we all know all the other teams will be starting to station themselves nearby in only a matter of hours or possibly even minutes.  
"There's something back there" Sakura says in surprise, Naruto turns and throws a kunai immediately.  
"Oh, it's just a centipede" Naruto sighs.  
"Just a centipede?!" Sakura barks at him, glancing back and forth between him and the now immobilised centipede.  
"Naruto, it'd be good if you kept it down a little" Kabuto warns, "we'd rather the collectors didn't find us before we find them." From then on we're all as quite as possible and I start making use of my concealing jutsu again which is suddenly so much easier to use now I have some chakra.

As we move Kabuto suddenly darts forward and grabs Naruto's shoulder before nodding to a tree nearby.  
"A trap, great" Sasuke sighs.  
"It only gets worse" Kabuto replies, carrying on, the rest of us following. Only thing is Naruto doesn't look anyway and triggers the trap. Kabuto jumps straight to his defence and ends up with several kunai buried in his back...only it's not him, it's a replacement jutsu. You know for a Genin he's pretty experienced. After a while it seems like we've been walking for hours and hours and the moon is right in the centre of the sky above us, glaring down at us. Eventually Sakura collapses and we have to stop.  
"That towers not getting any closer" she complains, I turn and look at it...I never noticed but it still seems as far away as it was. Then Kabuto points to a tree, the centipede, it's still there!


	22. I DO NOT Like Those Odds

All of a sudden several (and by that I mean a million) clones appear of a rain ninja. I dispel my jutsu and Hogai and I become visible again.  
"I swear if I see one more Rain Ninja I'm going to lose it" I mutter under my breath. The clones lumber slowly towards us and to my surprise Sasuke grins,  
"Well Naruto, you wanted a fight" he smiles.  
"Huh, 6 against 60, I like those odds" Naruto grins. One cackles and Naruto goes straight for it, punching it hard in the stomach.  
"Clearly can't take a punch" Sakura laughs but as Naruto goes further the clone does as well and eventually it's side breaks off and splashes every where. More and more form and those odds just seem to be getting worse and worse. Sasuke activates his Sharingan,  
"NARUTO MOVE" he yells before throwing shuriken at the clones and destroying three. A double ended kunai is then thrown at Sasuke, Kabuto gets him out of the way but not without it scratching his arm.  
"What's going on" Sasuke mutters, "I can't move." I see the curse mark light again and start to spread as there are continuous echoes of "surrender your scroll" from the rain nin.  
"Come and get it!" Naruto yells but Sasuke, who is fighting the curse mark's power, shouts back,  
"It's useless, you're fighting genjutsu."

"Well, are we going to do nothing?!" Naruto demands, "lets go find and fight these clowns!"  
"No Naruto" Kabuto snaps, "that's exactly what they want us to do!"  
"Well just have to stay put then" Naruto sighs, he then smiles a little. Thus it begins, I pull up my leaves and Hogai starts rotating a small ball of water in his hand, just waiting.  
"I see you're finally doing something" I mutter to him.  
"Better than dead" he answers. By the time we've fought off half it seems like another half have joined them and Naruto turns to shadow clones, despite being told otherwise. This leaves us no choice but to help him as the clones simply regenerate in seconds. Despite all the effort, we fight through the night and by morning have all run out of energy completely.

The clones dissolve and three rain ninja are stood behind them, now they've worn us out we're easy prey.  
"I know you" hisses one of the rain ninja, "the who scratched my shoulder, now I can pay you back with interest."  
"So now who's the cornered rat" Sasuke laughs, Sakura adds,  
"Worked like a charm" with a glee filled smile.  
"So while our clones" I start, they turn into four Naruto's, "took all the beatings we were just waiting." The others then disappear and there's just one Naruto left.  
"Hey Naruto, take a break" Sasuke grins a little, "I've got them." Naruto refuses though and gets up, hitting them all and sending them all flying. To think he's done all of that...and it's the fifth day, it's amazing.

Yet with now real clones made by the enemy it looks like a little more trouble is on the horizon than we thought, along with the sun rising now.  
"Naruto stop!" Kabuto yells as he goes after Naruto who is now testing each and every clone for the real ninja. Sasuke activates his Sharingan again but this time he collapses as Kabuto crashes into Naruto so he's out of the way again.  
"NOW YOU'LL PAY!" Naruto yells, seeing that Kabuto is now practically unable to stand.  
"Don't waste your time! You can hit at those guys all you want but it's pointless" Sasuke yells, clutching the mark.  
"Where are they?!" Naruto yells, turning away. Three of the ninja appear from the ground.  
"Earth style...clever" Sasuke mutters. When Kabuto does try to stand he gets knocked aside, while they create a nasty gash across his face in a similar place to where Iruka-Sensei's scar is, his glasses fly off and his eyes go wide. The rain ninja find themselves staring as Kabuto's eyes go red and they start backing off. Naruto uses the opportunity perfectly and gets them all with a single kick.

The clones disappear and Naruto grins, before collaspsing.  
"Looks like you knocked them out Naruto" I grin at him, "maybe we should have jumped in and helped."  
"It was nothing" Naruto grins back, he then crawls over to them and starts searching them for the scrolls they have. I quickly go over to Kabuto,  
"You alright" I ask, picking up his glasses, which miraculously aren't broken, and handing them to him.  
"I'm fine, thank you" he smiles in answer. While Naruto searches we go back over to the others and wait. "What's that mark on your neck?" Kabuto asks, "is it a bruise?"  
"It's nothing" Sasuke replies, glaring...I'm guessing he still doesn't completely trust Kabuto.

At the tower in the middle it seems like it's time for us to part ways. After we've left Hogai at his door which isn't too far from ours we go to our own.  
"Kabuto! There you are" yells someone, we all turn around, "you're late." I'm guessing this is Kabuto's team then, man it must suck being on his team if he fails every year and it's a team game.  
"I guess I got a little caught up" Kabuto smiles awkwardly, "well this is the door we go through, bye I guess."  
"I'm sure we'll see you around after this is over" I smile. He smiles back, I like this guy, he seems pretty cool.


	23. You Pass!

"What's the deal then" Naruto asks when we walk into the room the door led to.  
"Look over there" Sakura says, pointing to something written on the wall, we all turn to look  
"If qualities of Heaven are what you desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If Earthy qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When Heaven and Earth are opened together, the perilous path is righteous forever. This _____ is what guides us from this place today."  
"This what, I don't get it" Naruto replies to Sakura reading it out.  
"I think it's about the scrolls, it probably means we should open them now" Sakura answers. Naruto hands over the Heaven scroll to Sakura before getting the Earth one out for himself.  
"Well, here goes nothing" he gulps.

They begin to unrole them after a slight hesitation. Naruto doesn't seem all too impressed with the contents,  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He demands.  
"A man...a person?" Sakura asks, looking equally confused. The symbol in the middle starts to smoke a little,  
"This is a summoning jutsu" Sasuke realizes, "quick et rid of the scrolls!" Sakura and Naruto throw them across the room and jump back quickly as whatever was summoned appears.  
"What? Iruka-Sensei?" I ask, completely surprised, "what are you doing here?"  
"Long time no see" he says, he then grins.

"What's with the surprise entrance? Why did you appear with a summoning?" Naruto asks, though there's no doubt he's pleased to see him.  
"As Chunin we're supposed to welcome you test takers" Iruka smiles, "and you just got lucky it was me chosen to give the message to you four, and you made it just in time too."  
"What message?" Sakura asks.  
"Congratulations, you've passed the second exam. I'd like to treat you all to some ramen but" Iruka starts.  
"Really? Ramen? You're the best Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto laughs, running up to Iruka and hugging him.  
"Hey! I'm not done yet" Iruka yells, pretending to be annoyed but I doubt very much that he actually is. Naruto just babbles on about Ramen and Iruka just ends up smiling in the end.  
"Shut up will you" Sakura sighs, she and Sasuke are now sat on the floor.  
"I see you're as hyperactive as ever Naruto" Iruka smiles.

"What if we'd opened the scrolls in the middle of the test?" Sasuke asks.  
"Part of this exam was to test if you could see a difficult mission all the way through. Simply put you knew opening scrolls was against the rules and if you tried to open one then we were ordered to knock out any ninja who did so, some found that out the hard way" Iruka answers.  
"Good job you didn't open ours huh Naruto?" Sasuke smiles, so that's why you were asking.  
"Hey Sensei what does that mean? We can't work out what the missing word would be" I ask.  
"Who cares" Naruto interrupts, "we passed didn't we."  
"Actually, that's another one of my jobs" Iruka replies, "they're the principles that Chunin should follow, written by Lord Hokage himself." He then starts explaining to us how Heaven is your mind and Earth is your body, calling out Naruto on intellect and Sakura and I on physical strength. Hey! I can't help being small! He then finishes on the explanation on how the missing word is supposed to be us and praise.  
"One more thing...for the third exam, don't push it, especially you Naruto" Iruka sighs after a long and rather awkward paus


	24. Hayate Gekkou

"First of all congratulations on finishing the second exam" Anko yells at us, Naruto like again I see. With in seconds Choji is grumbling about food in two ways, Shikamaru is complaining about how many of us there are and Ino is drooling over Sasuke. This is going to be so fun. Oh and then there's Gai babbling on to Kakashi how his team is going to completely out do us in the next round and I swear I'm going to go insane. It's then I notice that Kakashi is frowning at me. I frown back, eyebrows raised in confusion. He taps his headband. It slipped my mind Neji still has it. I touch my forehead and nod at him, which usually means it's fine so he leaves it. Lee's now pulling weird faces and Neji is glancing around at the other candidates. When he spots me he pulls my headband out his pocket when I'm looking at him so I know he's still got it.  
"Alright pay attention! Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you!" Anko yells...again...please, stop the yelling. I glance to the side of her I fight to keep the grin off my face. Stood nearby is none other than Hayate Gekkou.

"Et hm" Lord Hokage clears his throat and we all look at him, "now before I begin I'd like to say something about the test, it's very important so listen. The true purpose of these exams. Why do you think we hold these exams with our allies? To increase Shinobi numbers but also maintain and develop better connections with other villages and Shinobi. It's important you understand, the exams are...so to speak" he pauses again and takes a deep breath before blowing out the smoke from his pipe, "they're a representation of the battle of allied nations."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tenten asks, sounding slightly horrified.  
"If we look at our history, all the neighbouring countries were once at war for power. If we destroy our nations military strength meaninglessly then the country becomes powerless. So instead it was a peace treaty between the nations that their champions would compete against each other, that is how these exams began."  
"But we're not being picked to fight though, are we?" Naruto asks.  
"Well, it is true the exams are to pick the best Shinobi, however they also allow the Shinobi to have the weight of their country's pride on their shoulders. Many important lords come here, not just to see skill but also to search for Shinobi to work for them. This exam could determine your Shinobi life from here on, as well the lords will use this exam as a base for who they go to for work."  
"Okay but why our lives" Kiba asks.  
"The strength of a country is the strength of it's village and the strength of the village is the strength of it's Shinobi" Lord Hokage answers, "the third exam is a fight for life and death, with your own pride and country's on your shoulders. Now I shall explain the third exam."  
((Sorry that took so long, I just really find this bit important))

"Please, if I, Hayate Gekkou, appointed procter of the third exam, may speak first" Hayate asks, his back to us.  
"Go ahead" Lord Hokage answers. He turns to face us after coughing,  
"There is something" he coughs, "that I would like all of" he coughs "you to do" he coughs "before the third exam" he coughs. That seems worse than normal...I wonder what's wrong. When he stops he starts making his point, "Before the actual exam starts we need to have a preliminary."  
"WHAT" Shikamaru yells...am I even surprised he's annoyed...no.  
"Hayate-Sensei" I start, reminding myself of what it is now, "I don't see the point of it."  
"The first and second exams didn't eliminate enough of you, the rules state that a preliminary can be held at any time" he answers.  
"Is that even fair?" Sakura pipes up.  
"It's just the rules of how many there are" Hayate answers, "if any of you" he stops and has coughing fit before continuing, "who don't feel in top physical condition you can back out now. Oh and the winners will be determined by sudden death one on one matches." Sasuke suddenly clutches his shoulder and Sakura says,  
"You have to quit, you can't do this. Since your clash with Orochimaru...please...please quit now, before something happens."

"Okay you got me, I'm out" Kabuto says, raising his hand.  
"Kabuto Yakushi of the leaf right?" Hayate asks, looking through the list he has, "you can go."  
"Wait a second Kabuto!" Naruto yells as he starts walking away.  
"I can't do it Naruto" Kabuto sighs, "I'm just too beat up. I've had no hearing in my left ear since the exam started, I can't put my life on the line." He waves at us before going. Sakura goes to raise her hand but Sasuke grabs her wrist,  
"Don't even think about it" he hisses. With the small conversation that follows I see he's changed. He's...this mark...he's gotten crueler than before, even to us.  
"What are you saying, don't bite her head off, she cares about you!" Naruto yells at him.  
"You're one of the ones I want to fight most, Naruto" Sasuke grins. He's changed and for the worst.


	25. Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado

All we can do is hope he wins and that the mark won't take too much effect on him. When we're told to clear to the upper level Team 7 find themselves staying. Hayate walks over to me and hands me an envelope similar to that I got in the second exam.  
"Are you okay, your cough seems worse" I ask quietly as he hands me the envelope.  
"It's just acting up, don't worry, I'm not at Death's door yet" he smiles slightly. I smile back before going with Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto.  
"Hey" says a voice, the owner grabs my sleeve and pulls me back as I walk past.  
"Thanks for almost pulling me down a flight of stairs Neji" I reply. He shrugs, charming, and hands my headband to me. I shake my head,  
"Not yet, when my match is over, then you can. If your match is before mine give it to Hayate and if you win, which I'm sure you will, he'll give it back to you if not he'll keep hold of it until my match."  
"The fact you doubt me is hypocritical" he sighs.  
"How?" I ask, frowning.  
"Well you know you can't beat me in anything...except perhaps domestic tasks which even then you can't do all that well. I don't doubt you anyway" he answers.  
"None of that made any sense and just because I'm not a perfect image of a girl doesn't mean I'm no good...honestly you sound like one of the Nara family" I reply, "anyway, I wasn't doubting you, I was just presenting all the possibilities."  
"Just don't die or get yourself too badly hurt, okay?" He sighs again. If you ask me he doesn't sound up to this.  
"You as well" I reply, poking him in the chest gently.

"Alright! Begin when you are ready" Hayate says before moving out of the way as quickly as possible. Can't blame him really. Sasuke's eyes go wide for a second...it must be the mark, no wonder Sakura was trying to stop him. Yoroi goes straight towards Sasuke with no hesistation and plants his hand securely on his forehead. There seems to chakra round his hand...what...what is he doing? Sasuke yells in pain as he collapses,  
"My chakra...what are you doing?!" Yoroi cackles,  
"Only just noticed?" He asks as Sasuke carries on yelling in pain, "you finally caught on huh?" It seems like forever before Sasuke yells,  
"GET OFF ME" and kicks Yoroi hard enough to knock him off.  
"So you still have some power" Yoroi laughs, "don't worry I'll make it short and sweet." He goes for him again but Sasuke dodges several times and when he is caught it's only for a few seconds. Still he's closed to drained and almost topples over upon dodging.  
"Is that really the best you can do" Yoroi mocks before cackling again.  
"Come on Sasuke!" Naruto yells, "you call yourself an Uchiha?"  
"Well that's one way of motivating Sasuke" I mutter, eyebrows going up a second as I read the letter. Yoroi goes for him again but after Naruto's little kick start Sasuke manages to dodge every single attack. All of a sudden he disappears.

"What the?" Yoroi starts before being kicked in the chin by Sasuke...who appears to be doing the Dancing Leaf Shadow. That's Lee and Gai-Sensei's isn't it? Judging by the look on their faces it is. Sasuke then appears behind Yoroi as Lee did to him,  
"I borrowed that, I admit it but now it's all original" he then puts two fingers on Yoroi's back and...stops. I drop the letter and run to the railings, squinting at Sasuke. The mark...it's reacting. Oh no. After a moment of baited breath it recedes back to the three tamoe and Sasuke grins. He puts a hand on Yoroi's back and flips him,  
"You're no match for me" Yoroi growls. Sasuke just grins again and brings his fist down as hard as he can on Yoroi's chest. Then his foot onto his side and then his other foot right into Yoroi's chest as he yells,  
"Lion's barrage!" I guess the fact Sasuke's the only one concious that makes him the winner. Sasuke almost collapses but Kakashi disappears from the railing, where he was casually leaning next to me and appears behind Sasuke,  
"Not bad" he comments and then goes on about Lee and Gai's technique. Naruto then goes on to insult Sasuke as he always does. Someone taps me on the shoulder,  
"You know you really shouldn't leave these lying around" Neji sighs, handing me the letter I dropped.  
"Thanks..." I mumble. I look down and see Kakashi and Sasuke walking off. I wonder...


End file.
